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EDITED BY 

WILLIAM T. HARRIS, A.M., LL. D. 



. Volume LIV 



INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES. 

12mo, cloth, uniform binding. 



THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES was projected for the pur- 
pose of bringing together in orderly arrangement the best writings, new and 
old, upon educational subjects, and presenting a complete course of reading and 
training for teachers generally. It is edited by William T. Harris, LL. D., 
United States Commissioner of Education, who has contributed for the different 
volumes in the way of introduction, analysis, and commentary. 

1. The Philosophy of Education. By Johann K. F. Rosenkranz, Doc- 

tor of Theology and Professor of Philosophy, University of Konigsberg. 
Translated by Anna C. Brackett. Second edition, revised, with Com- 
mentary and complete Analysis. $1.50. 

2. A History of Education. By F. V. N. Painter, A.M., Professor of 

Modern Languages and Literature, Roanoke College, Va. $1.50. 

3. The Rise and Early Constitution of Universities. With a Sur- 

vey of Medlevai, Education. By S. S. Laurie, LL. D., Prof essor of 
the Institutes and History of Education, University of Edinburgh. $1.50. 

4. The Ventilation and Warming of School Buildings. By Gilbert 

B. Morrison, Teacher of Physics and Chemistry, Kansas City High School. 
$1.00. 

5. The Education of Man. By Friedrich Froebel. Translated and an- 

notated by W. N. Hailmann, A.M., Superintendent of Public Schools, 
La Porte, Ind. $1.50. 

6. Elementary Psychology and Education. By Joseph Baldwin, 

A. M., LL. D., author of "The Art of School Management.' 1 $1.50. 

7. The Senses and the Will. (Part I of "The Mind of the Child. ") 

By W. Preter, Professor of Physiology in Jena. Translated by H. W. 
Brown, Teacher in the State Normal School at Worcester, Mass. $1.50. 

8. Memory: What it is and How to Improve it. By David Kay, 

F. R. G. S., author of " Education and Educators," etc. $1.50. 

9. The Development of the Intellect. (Part II of " The Mind of the 

Child.' 1 ) By W. Preyer, Professor of Physiology in Jena. Translated by 
H. W. Brown. $1.50. 

10. How to Study Geography. A Practical Exposition of Methods and 

Devices in Teaching Geography which apply the Principles and Plans of 
Ritter and Guyot. By Francis W. Parker, Principal of the Cook County 
(Illinois) Normal School. $1.50. 

11. Education in the United States : Its History from the Earliest 

Settlements. By Richard G. Boone, A.M., Professor of Pedagogy, 
Indiana University. $1.50. 

12. European Schools ; or, What I Saw in the Schools of Germany, 

France, Austria, and Switzerland. By L. R. Klemm, Ph. D., Principal 
of the Cincinnati Technical School. Fullyillustrated. $2.00. 

13. Practical Hints for the Teachers of Puhlic Schools. By George 

Howland, Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools. $1.00. 

14. Pestalozzi : His Life and Work. By Roger de Guimps. Authorized 

Translation from the second French edition, by J. Russell, B. A. With an 
Introduction by Rev. R. H. Quick, M. A. $1.50. 

15. School Supervision. By J. L. Pickard, LL. D. $1.00. 

16. Higher Education of Women in Europe. By Helene Lange, Berlin. 

Translated and accompanied by comparative statistics by L.R. Klemm. $1.00. 
1?. Essays on Educational Reformers. By Robert Herbert Quick, 
M. A., Trinity College, Cambridge. Only authorized edition of the work as 
rewritten in 1890. $1.50. 

18. A Text-Book in Psychology. By Johann Friedrich Herbart. Trans- 

lated by Margaret K. Smith. $1.00. 

19. Psychology Applied to the Art of Teaching. By Joseph Baldwin. 

A.M., LL.D. $1.50. 



THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION SERIES.— (Continued.-) 

20. Rousseau's Emile ; or, Treatise on Education. Translated and an- 

notated by W. H. Payne, Ph. D., LL. D. $1.50. 

21. The Moral Instruction of Children. By Felix Adler. $1.50. 

22. English Education in the Elementary and Secondary Schools. 

By Isaac Sharpless, LL. D., President of Haverford College. $1.00. 

23. Education froni a National Standpoint. By Alfred Fouillee. $1.50. 

24. Mental Development of the Child. By W. Peeyer, Professor of 

Physiology in Jena. Translated by H. W. Brown. $1.00. 

25. How to Study and Teach History. By B. A. Hinsdale, Ph. D., LL. D., 

University ot Michigan. $1.50. 

26. Symbolic Education. A Commentary on Froebel's " Mother-Plat. 1 ' 

By Susan E. Blow. $1.50. 

27. Systematic Science Teaching. By Edward G^rdnier Howe. $1.50'. 

28. The Education of the Greek People. By Thomas Davidson. $1.50. 

29. The Evolution of the Massachusetts Public-School System. By 

G. H. Martin, A. M. $1.50. 

30. Pedagogics of the Kindergarten. By Friedrich Froebel. $1.50. 
81. The Mottoes and Commentaries of Friedrich Eroebel's Mother- 
Play. By Susan E. Blow and Henrietta R. Eliot. $1.50. * 

32. The Songs and Music of Eroebel's Mother-Play. By Susan E. 

Blow. $1.50. 
33 The Psychology of Number. By James A. McLellan, A.M., and 

John Dewey, Ph. D. $1.50. 
34. Teaching the Language- Arts. By B. A. Hinsdale, LL. D. $1.00. 

35 The Intellectual and Moral Development of the Child. Part I. 

By Gabriel Compayre. Translated by Mary E. Wilson. $1.50. 

36 Herbart's ABCof Sense-Perception, and Introductory Works. 

By William J. Eckoff, Pd. D., Ph. D. $1.50. 

37 Psychologic Foundations of Education. By William T. Harris, 

A.M., LL.D. $1.50. 

38 The School System of Ontario. By the Hon. George W. Ross, LL. D., 

Minister of Education for the Province of Ontario. $1.00. 
39. Principles and Practice of Teaching. By James Johonnot. $1.50. 
40*. School Management and Methods. By Joseph Baldwin. $1.50. 
41 FroebePs Educational laws for all Teachers. By James L. 

Hughes, Inspector of Schools, Toronto. $1.50. 

42. Bibliography of Education. By Will S. Monroe, A. B. $2.00. 

43. The Study of the Child. By A. R. Taylor, Ph. D. $1.50. 

44. Education by Development. By Friedrich Froebel. Translated by 

Josephine Jarvis. $1.50. 

45 tetters to a Mother. By Susan E. Blow. $1.50. 

46 Montaigne's The Education of Children. Translated by L. E. Rec- 

tor, Ph. D. $1.00. 

47. The Secondary School System of Germany. By Frederick E. 

Bolton. $1.50. 

48. Advanced Elementary Science. By Edward G. Howe. $1.50. 

49. Dickens as an Educator. By James L. Hughes. $1.50. 

50. Principles of Education Practically Applied. Revised edition. 

By James M. Greenwood. $1.00. 

other volumes ln preparation. 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 8 ERIE 8 



EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS 



OF 



TRADE AND INDUSTRY 



BY 

FABIAN WAKE 

AUTHOR OP EDUCATIONAL REFORM— THE TASK 
OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, ETC. 



"... and then as to her manner ; upon my word I think 
it is particularly graceful, considering she never had the 
least education : for you know her mother was a Welsh 
milliner and her father a sugar-baker at Bristol." 

School for Scandal, act ii, sc. 2 



i , ■ , , > } 



' ■ ' ' ' I ■ > > > 

, ' i J, 5 »>' ',3 



NEW YORK 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1901 



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THE U8SA#Y OP 
CONGRESS 

Two Copies Receives 

jan. 2 n 

OOPVWtGHT 6NTW 

CLASS iSL ' XXC, *o.| 
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Copyright, 1901, 
By D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 



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« •■ II * C » t> r < (1 « O < 






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TO MY WIFE 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



The publishers take pleasure in offering to the 
public the present volume of the International 
Education Series. It is written by an English 
scholar who has made a reputation for his philo- 
sophic insight into the aims and purposes of the 
chief national systems of education at present in 
operation upon the continent of Europe. In the 
light of his broad general studies, Mr. Ware dis- 
cusses the situation in Great Britain, and throws 
light upon home questions that are pressing for 
a solution. To those readers of educational 
treatises of a generation ago which served up 
only an inventory of national differences and 
peculiarities without tracing these to a com- 
mon principle or any fundamental process, the 
writings of Mr. Ware are in the nature of a 
revelation. They afford enlightenment to the 
seeker after wisdom, while the mere inventory 
has a tendency to obscure one's vision by divid- 
ing and subdividing his attention upon a mul- 
titude of details without unity, and thereby 
laming his will or his power to act. 

The philosophic study of education traces the 
dead results — the facts or products of a system 
of education — into the processes which have pro- 
duced it. In the next place it discovers the aims 

vii 



Editor's Preface. 

and purposes which have impelled and guided 
the processes and formed their methods. Ar- 
rived at an insight into purposes and aims, one is 
able to compare intelligently the system of one 
nation with that of another. It is only in the 
light of the national aim and purpose that the 
methods and results of an educational system can 
be criticised. The philosophical view, of course, 
examines and compares national purposes and 
aims in view of the status of the people of a 
country and the direction of progress which 
their civilization is taking. In the present book 
it is believed by the publishers that Mr. Ware 
has presented in a clear and convincing style a 
series of reflections upon his theme, namely, 
upon the " Educational Foundations of Trade 
and Industry," which will prove quite as en- 
lightening to readers in America as in England. 
To see the systematic and efficient efforts of the 
French, and especially of the Germans, as viewed 
from the standpoint of an intelligent English- 
man, will prove helpful to us, who are beginning 
to make earnest efforts to re-enforce our indus- 
tries by school education. 

It is hoped that the present work will meet 
a cordial reception from the directors of edu- 
cation, and from all who are interested in meet- 
ing a national want by schools for trade and 
industry. 

W. T. Harris. 

Washington, D. C, December 7, iqoi. 

viii 



PREFACE. 



THE following pages have been written with the 
intention of placing before the English public an 
accurate, though necessarily far from complete, 
account of the educational foundations of foreign 
trade and industry. As need for educational re- 
form is generally expressed in England in terms 
of foreign commercial or industrial success, I may 
be justified in thinking that many persons in this 
country will be interested to know, or to complete 
their knowledge of, what our foremost rivals are 
really doing in their schools. This book originated 
in a suggestion of Professor H. L. Withers, of 
Owens College, Manchester, that I should write 
on the subject of foreign trade and foreign educa- 
tion. I am not qualified to discuss the question 
from an industrial or commercial point of view ; 
I have therefore confined my attempts to showing 
the educational intentions of Germany, France, 
and the United States of America, and the way 
in which these intentions are put into practice in 

ix 



Preface. 

their schools. The relation between their educa- 
tion and their success in commerce and industry 
is now generally recognized in England ; but it 
is not for an educationist to express any opinion 
on this matter. The following plan of a complete 
national system of education will explain most of 
the technical terms which I have been obliged to 
use in the following pages. The dotted lines and 
arrows show the principal passages from one 
division of the system to the other. The two 
divisions are distinct in most countries, the great 
exception being America. 

Universities ..^_v Technical High Schools 

I !t±— | 

Secondary Schools . Lower Technical Schools 

...^-- «-----5!§L | 

"*v Higher Primary Schools * 

^^ - | 

Preparatory Schools Primary (or Elementary Schools) 

The only direct assistance in my undertaking 
which I have to acknowledge is that of my wife. 
To her judgment and practical help I am greatly 
indebted, and to her I have dedicated my book. 

I must, however, take this opportunity of publicly 
admitting how much I owe to the writings of Mr. 
Spenser Wilkinson and Mr. Michael E. Sadler. 
All students of National Education are under a 
heavy debt to these two gentlemen ; my obliga- 
tion to them is particularly great, as I have had 

* Called in England " Higher Grade Schools." 
X 



Preface. 

many opportunities during recent years of dis- 
cussing personally with them matters of common 
interest. 

Among the chief works which I have consulted, 
and from which I have quoted, I may mention, 
" Special Reports on Educational Subjects " of the 
English Board of Education, the volumes pub- 
lished in connection with the Paris Exhibition of 
1900 by the French Ministry of Public Instruction 
and Ministry of Commerce, the Annual Reports 
of the United States Commissioner of Education, 
and the admirable " Monographs on Education in 
the United States," published in connection with 
the American Educational Section of the Paris 
Exhibition of 1900. 

F W. 

Hampstead, 

June Sth, 1 90 1, 



XI 



CONTENTS. 



K>— 



GHAPTBH PAGS 

I. The Growth of National Systems of Educa- 
tion i 

II. Voluntary Efforts in England to lay Educa- 
tional Foundations 14 

III. The Attempts of the English Government 

to lay Educational Foundations ... 29 

IV. The Foundations laid by German Government 57 

V. The Foundations laid in France . . . 147 
VI. The Foundations laid in America . , . 226 

VII. Conclusions 286 

Index • • - . . . . „ ~ 295 



xm 



EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF 
TRADE AND INDUSTRY. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE GROWTH OF NATIONAL SYSTEMS OF 
EDUCATION. 

Whatever may be considered the most remark- 
able achievement of the nineteenth century, there 
can be little doubt that the national education 
systems which it has founded will be held respon- 
sible by future generations for much of the pro- 
sperity which they may enjoy, and many of the woes 
which they will suffer. It is true that, in all ages of 
civilization, much attention has been paid to the 
education of the ruling classes. From time to time 
charitable persons have endeavoured to extend the 
benefits of education to the children of the poor, 
and in England, at any rate, there has never been 
wanting a recognition of the right of the talented 
child to enter through the school into the aris- 
tocracy of intellect. But it was only during the 

I 



Universal Need of Education. 

last century that the civilized world awoke to the 
full realization of the fact that no man is qualified 
to fill the position, however humble it may be, 
which his country has assigned to him without 
having been educated in the school ; that is to say, 
developed mentally, morally and physically, through 
a systematic course of instruction, to such a pitch 
as will enable him to contend successfully against 
the difficulties and complexities of modern life, not 
only those difficulties and complexities which enter 
into the common environment, but also those which 
he must encounter in his own special sphere of 
activity. The realization of this fact led to the 
creation of national systems of education, that is to 
say, systems which provide education for the whole 
people of a nation, not as if they were divided into 
distinct and independent classes, but, even where 
social barriers are most firmly established, as 
united in a common purpose, and possessed of 
common modes of thought and action. 

It is no mere coincidence that the realization of 
this fact has originated with the commencement, 
and has kept pace with the growth, of that great 
industrial development which has undermined the 
foundations of the old social and economic order, 
and seems destined to work changes even in the 
physical aspect of our world. The marvellous 
scientific discoveries of the last century and of the 
closing years of its predecessor, which produced in 

2 



Results of Scientific Progress. 

one direction the Industrial Revolution, gave us 
in another a deeper insight into the activities and 
possibilities of the human mind ; they threw such 
light on the workings of the human intelligence, 
and of the development of the human body, that 
laws were discovered for the training of both, which 
if they were not altogether unknown to our an- 
cestors, had only been advanced hitherto in a timid 
and uncertain manner, New views were thus 
acquired as to the value and the power of educa- 
tion. For centuries, one might almost say since 
the moment when Greek civilization reached its 
zenith, the schools of Europe had devoted them- 
selves almost exclusively to the training of scholars. 
Their one aim had become the pursuit of learning 
and the achievement of scholarly culture through 
contact with the thoughts and writings of the past. 
The interdependence of mind and soul and body, 
pointing to the concurrent training of this human 
trinity into a sound and fully developed living 
organism, capable of conquering the actual sur- 
roundings in the midst of which it had to exist, 
had been lost sight of, and was not restored to the 
world until rediscovered by modern science, and 
expressed in new formulas with added truth. 

At the same time the Industrial Revolution 
brought with it the demand for increased knowledge 
on the part of those workers whose duty it was to 
control the new forces applied to industry. Neither 

3 



Destruction of Self-dependence. 

must the changes which it introduced into the condi- 
tions of labour be ignored. New responsibilities 
were thrust upon nations with regard to that 
large class of workers, for whom the marvels of 
machinery meant but the destruction of inde- 
pendent work and the earning of a living by- 
mechanical labour, subversive of that "self-de- 
pendent power " which Goldsmith rightly held to 
be the true source of a nation's strength, and the 
destruction of which from other causes he deplored 
even in his time. Every addition to labour-saving 
appliances confirmed the truth of Adam Smith's 
assertion as to the mental, moral, and physical 
effects of the progress of the division of labour on 
the majority of the population. In this progress, 
he said, " the employment of the far greater part of 
those who live by labour, that is, of the great body 
of the people, comes to be confined to a few very 
simple operations ; frequently to one or two. . . . 
The man whose whole life is spent in performing a 
few simple operations, of which the effects too are 
perhaps always the same, or very nearly the same, 
has no occasion to exert his understanding, or to 
exercise his invention, in finding out expedients 
for removing difficulties which never occur. He 
naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, 
and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it 
is possible for a human creature to become. . . . 
His dexterity at his own particular trade seems, in 

4 



Effects of the Industrial Revolution — 

this manner, to be acquired at the expense of his 
intellectual, social, and martial virtues. But in 
every improved and civilized society, this is the 
state into which the labouring poor, that is, the 
great body of the people, must necessarily fall, un- 
less Government takes some pains to prevent it." 
And so deeply did the great economist feel the 
dangers to which the nation was thus exposed that, 
in spite of his objection to public institutions for 
education, he was convinced that Government alone 
could prevent these dangers by providing elemen- 
tary instruction for the inferior ranks of the people. 
The poet Wordsworth expressed the same view 
some thirty-five years later in his "earnest wish 
expressed for a system of national education 
established universally by Government," in which 
he pleads that none be forced 

" To drudge through weary life without the aid 
Of intellectual implements and tools." 

Such were some of the views expressed by men in 
our own land as to those tendencies which had to 
be counteracted by education, but which were con- 
firmed by the new industrial development. 

We may say, therefore, that the growth of 
national systems of education during the nine- 
teenth century was due to two main causes. As 
we shall see later, these causes were not productive 
of as great effect in England as elsewhere ; but 

5 



And the New Conditions of Labour. 

they were clearly perceived by those of our leading 
thinkers whose attention was not absorbed by 
problems which appeared at the time to be of a 
more pressing nature. Briefly, these two causes 
may be stated as follows. On the one hand, the 
new conditions of labour threatened the destruc- 
tion of that " self-dependent power " which may be 
regarded as one of the chief sources of a nation's 
strength ; secondly, the application of the new 
discoveries of science to industry necessitated 
greater intelligence and wider knowledge than had 
hitherto sufficed for those at the head of industrial 
undertakings. The first of these, it may at once be 
noted, points to the general education of all classes 
of the people ; the second to the special educa- 
tion of those who, by fortune or by merit, rise to a 
position of greater responsibility than their fellows. 
It may appear a somewhat remarkable fact that 
England, the birth-place of modern industry, is 
the last of the great nations to build up its educa- 
tional system. The close of the eighteenth century 
saw public provision made for schools in Wiirtem- 
berg, Saxony, and Prussia. The opening of the 
nineteenth witnessed the creation of a complete 
system of education of all grades in France, under 
the direction of Napoleon. It was not until 1870 
that our parliament established elementary schools, 
insuring the primary education of all children in 
the land ; and we are still to-day behind all other 

6 



Causes of England's Backwardness. 

great nations in making public provision for the 
higher branches of education. 

We often hear it said that this is due to the 
natural conservatism of the English character. If 
another country introduces changes which we 
hesitate to adopt, clinging apparently to the older 
order of things, there is certainly some justification 
for the statement that we are more conservative 
than the people of that country. But it is very 
necessary, in making such an assertion, to guard 
carefully against any confusion of cause and effect. 
Before the fact can be established beyond all doubt 
that the natural character of the English people is 
more conservative than that of another people, 
not only must the actual achievements of both 
peoples in every branch of activity be compared 
with minute accuracy, but due allowance must be 
made for the external influences which may have 
modified the natural action of their characters. 
Without plunging into the depths of such a very 
complicated question, we can, nevertheless, find a 
more immediate cause than the conservatism of the 
English character, for our failure to establish a 
national system of education as early as Germany 
and France. 

By a national system is meant one which, among 
other things, meets all the varied needs of the 
nation, and is representative of a common national 
purpose. This common purpose can only be 

7 



Causes of England's Backwardness — 

insured if the system is controlled — to what 
extent need not now be discussed — by the State. 
Before arriving at a definite conclusion as to the 
cause of our failure to establish such a system 
during the nineteenth century, we must, there- 
fore, consider the nature of our government during 
this period. 

In England the greater part of the last century 
has been occupied in remodelling our government 
on a democratic basis. In 1770, Burke voiced the 
determination of the English people to oppose 
any attempt to establish a government possessing 
despotic elements when he deplored the tendency 
shown by the House of Commons to exercise 
control upon the people, whereas " it was designed 
as a control for the people." These words may be 
regarded as marking the close of the defensive 
attitude of the democratic forces ; they were hence- 
forth to assume an entirely offensive role, and for 
nearly three-quarters of the nineteenth century we 
were consciously occupied in the pursuits of that 
form of constitutional government, which would 
be thoroughly representative of all classes of 
the people, and would at the same time allow 
the greatest freedom possible to the individual. 
During this period our government was, therefore, 
in a stage of transition ; and at every moment the 
existing form, backed by the forces of conservatism, 
was fighting for its preservation rather than, with an 

8 



compared with Germany — - 

assurance of its permanency, attending to its legisla- 
tive and executive duties. But unless govern- 
ment possess confidence in its own permanency, 
providing as it does a sense of stability, national 
action becomes impossible. 

Even where democratic forces are at work, dis- 
integrating the older forms of government, national 
unity, productive of national action, is, however, 
possible when internal differences are outweighed 
by common needs in face of external opposition. 
At the beginning of last century we were full of 
that nation^ 1 pride which, in the " Old World," 
according to Lowell, " feeds itself with the record 
of battles and conquest " ; and, had this pride in 
our national achievements been coupled with the 
ever-present consciousness of the need of unity for 
defence against external interference, national 
action might have become possible without entirely 
checking the progress of constitutional reform. 
But when once the Napoleonic wars were termi- 
nated, the external opposition to Great Britain 
seemed to us to be reduced to a negligible 
quantity, and consequently national unity was not 
an imperative need. This explains our delay in 
establishing a national system of education. 

Germany, however, spent the same period in 
uniting in the face of external opposition into 
one nation. Prussia, crushed under the iron heel 
of Napoleon, rose again with a vigour and a 

9 



And with France. 

determination which, by their strength, ultimately 
drew the other States into a united Empire, over 
which she presided. One of the first results of her 
revival was the establishment of a national system 
of education to which the systems of the other 
States have now closely assimilated themselves. 
Germany has never allowed democratic aspira- 
tions to interfere with that national unity which 
external opposition rendered essential. 

France, on the other hand, has, during this 
period, suffered many vicissitudes. At least five 
times she has radically changed her form of 
government. But for the very reason that these 
changes were revolutionary and unforeseen, each 
successive form of government possessed stability 
owing to the fact that the people believed in its 
permanency. There was not, at any rate in 
France, that certainty of change which was always 
with us in our conscious evolution towards demo- 
cracy. And not only so ; whatever may have been 
the disintegrating forces at work under the different 
forms of government, national unity, productive of 
national action, was ever necessary — though at 
moments this necessity may have been lost sight 
of to the disadvantage of France. Consequently 
the national system of education founded by 
Napoleon was continued and developed. It is true 
that it was modified from time to time in favour 
of that class of the people on which the existing 

10 



Democracy established in England. 

form of government depended for support ; but 
events invariably restored the national aim. 

Viewed in the light of these facts, it is a bold 
assertion to say that it is owing to a greater con- 
servatism of character that we have failed to found 
a national system of education at as early a date 
as Germany and France. And, whatever may be 
the characteristic want of foresight of which we 
are accused by some of our best friends, it is to 
our credit that we perceived that, in the circum- 
stances in which we were placed, the constitutional 
struggle had to be decided before our government 
would be justified in taking any measures of a per- 
manent and far-reaching effect. It was not until 
the Act of 1867 had settled, once and for all, that 
our government should assume the democratic type 
that sufficient stability in the form of government 
was acquired to allow a system of education to be 
imposed on the people. And even then it was not 
a national system ; for the Act of 1870 dealt with 
elementary education alone. In a sense this Act 
was a democratic measure ; and in this connection 
it is interesting to notice that the Government did 
not venture to compel the people to send their 
children to the elementary school, preferring to 
leave the question of compulsion to the Local 
Authorities — the School Boards — to decide. There 
was thus initiated, under the new form of govern- 
ment, that policy of allowing the English people 

11 



Democracy and Education in America. 

even greater freedom of educational control than 
was insured by a thoroughly representative form 
of central or national government. 

At this point, while considering democratic as 
opposed to national tendencies in the organization 
of education, our thoughts naturally turn to the 
United States of America. Daniel Webster, in 
his Plymouth oration of 1822, remarked : " On the 
diffusion of education among the people rests the 
preservation and perpetuation of our free institu- 
tions. I apprehend no danger to our country from 
a foreign foe. . . . Our destruction, should it come 
at all, will be from another quarter. From the 
inattention of the people to the concerns of the 
Government, from their carelessness and negligence, 
I confess I do apprehend some danger. I fear 
that they may place too implicit confidence in 
their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize 
their conduct ; that in this way they may be the 
dupes of designing men and become the instru- 
ments of their undoing. . . . Make them intelligent 
and they will be vigilant ; give them the means 
of detecting the wrong and they will apply the 
remedy." This perception of the need of educa- 
tion to ensure the success of democracy when once 
firmly established is not strange. In commenting 
on these words of Daniel Webster, one of the lead- 
ing educators of America recently observed : "We 
are making the experiment of self-government — 

12 



Democracy and Education in America. 

a government of the people by the people — and 
it has seemed a logical conclusion to all nations 
of all times that the rulers of the people should 
have the best education attainable. Then, of 
course, it follows that the entire people of a 
democracy should be educated, for they are the 
rulers." With this it is interesting to compare the 
opinion expressed by Robert Lowe. After the 
passing of the Reform Act of 1867, by which the 
working-men living in small houses and forming a 
majority of the population were enfranchised, he 
exclaimed, " We must now at least educate our 
new masters." 

The original absence, in the education of the 
United States, of a national aim — of the kind 
which is forced upon a people by external opposi- 
tion — is clearly shown by Daniel Webster's proud 
boast : " I apprehend no danger to our country 
from a foreign foe." Well might Englishmen have 
uttered the same boast after the battle of Waterloo ; 
but fifty years of internal struggles were necessary 
before we arrived at Webster's views as to the need 
of education for the people. How far democracy 
has proved itself capable in America of building up 
a national system of education will be shown in a 
subsequent chapter. It will then be seen that in 
possessing such a system the United States also 
have stolen a march upon us. 



13 



CHAPTER II. 

VOLUNTARY EFFORTS IN ENGLAND TO LAY 
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS. 

Of the three countries which we have considered, 
it is seen that England has been the last to recog- 
nize the responsibility of the nation in face of the 
new conditions of labour, threatening the destruc- 
tion of" self-dependent power" — the responsibility, 
that is to say, of counteracting by education the 
deadening influences of mechanical labour for those 
whose fate it is to earn their living among the 
lowest ranks of the workers. And when England 
did at last recognize this responsibility it was on 
account of the establishment of democracy, demand- 
ing, as this form of government must demand, a 
certain minimum of enlightenment on the part of 
all those who have a share in the government. 
There were many men in England who, even then, 
would rather have adopted Adam Smith's view, 
and admitted the claims of education on the 
grounds that "in free countries, where the safety 

14 



Want of National Aim in England. 

of government depends very much on the favour- 
able judgment which the people may form of its 
conduct," it is an advantage to the State that the 
people be instructed, for then " they are more dis- 
posed to examine, and more capable of seeing 
through, the interested complaints of faction and 
sedition." Generally speaking, however, it may be 
said that we were ultimately guided by the same 
democratic motives as the Americans, and, to a 
certain extent, the French ; but we were in no way 
convinced, as the French and Germans were, and 
still are, of the dependence of national prosperity 
on national education. We were not urged, and 
have not yet been compelled, to found a national 
system of education by the second of the two causes 
named above : the need, in international com- 
petition, of greater intelligence and wider know- 
ledge on the part of those of our people who have 
to control the new forces introduced into industry 
by the discoveries of science. 

But the absence of a national system does not 
imply the total want in the country of means of 
meeting rfational needs ; though it does neces- 
sarily represent an incomplete and disorganized 
provision for such needs. For instance, great 
voluntary efforts had been made in England to 
bring elementary education within the reach of 
all classes of the people before the interference of 
the State in 1870. In the same way, though on a 

15 



Dr. Birkbeck's Efforts — - 

much smaller scale, something had been done by 
voluntary effort to increase the intelligence and 
knowledge of those who had to control the new 
forces which science had brought to bear upon 
industry. 

The pioneer in this movement was Dr. George 
Birkbeck. The son of Quaker parents, he was born 
in Yorkshire, in 1776. When a student at Edinburgh 
University he formed a friendship with several men 
destined to become eminent, among whom may be 
noticed particularly Henry Brougham. While en- 
gaged as professor of Natural and Experimental 
Philosophy at the Andersonian Institution in Glas- 
gow, Birkbeck was obliged to employ ordinary 
workmen to make his scientific apparatus, for there 
was no specialist in this branch of work in the town. 
On one occasion he employed a tinman to construct 
a model of a centrifugal pump. It was in the cellar 
which was the tinman's workshop that, surrounded 
by the workmen who were making the pump, he 
was struck with their ignorance as to its uses, and at 
the same time with their desire to obtain enlighten- 
ment. It was here that he first conceived the 
idea of giving a course of gratuitous lectures for 
the scientific instruction of the working classes. 
In the programme for this course which he drew up 
shortly after, he announced his intention of estab- 
lishing classes " solely for persons engaged in the 
practical exercise of the mechanical arts, men whose 

16 



Philanthropic in Intention — 

education early in life had precluded even the 
possibility of acquiring the smallest portion of 
scientific knowledge." And he added that "greater 
satisfaction in the execution of machinery must be 
experienced when the uses to which it may be ap- 
plied, and the principles upon which it operates, are 
well understood, than when the manual part alone 
is known, the artist remaining entirely ignorant of 
everything besides." 

As may be judged from the words just quoted, 
Dr. Birkbeck's object was excellent ; but he failed, 
as many a philanthropist fails, owing to a very 
natural impatience to achieve his end. It is this 
impatience that so often causes the philan- 
thropist to attempt to circumvent the laws of 
progress which are inflexible in their insistence 
on a slow and gradual process of evolution — 
laws which can least of all be violated in educa- 
tion. 

We have seen earlier in the preceding pages 
that the industrial revolution made it necessary 
that education should provide increased knowledge 
among those workers who had to control the new 
forces which scientific discoveries had introduced 
into the processes of manufacture ; and, above all, 
that education should counteract the evils arising 
from the destruction of self-dependent power 
among those workmen for whom these improve- 
ments meant but the earning of a living by 

17 



But doomed to Failure — 

mechanical labour, offering no stimulus to healthy 
physical or mental development. And it was 
stated that these two needs pointed respectively 
to the general education of all classes of workers, 
and to the special education of those who, by 
fortune or merit, rise to a position of greater 
responsibility than their fellows. As the dis- 
tinction here drawn has continually been ignored in 
England, and as it really affects the very basis of a 
national system of education, it demands particular 
attention. 

Dr. Birkbeck appears to have attached chief 
importance to the need of workmen to understand 
the uses to which machinery may be applied, and 
the principles upon which it operates. To teach 
them this, he offered a course of lectures, in which 
he promised that he would study "simplicity of 
expression and familiarity of illustration." In other 
words, he attempted to teach science in such a way 
that its principles could be grasped by persons 
who had had no preparatory education — who were, 
in fact, entirely ignorant. In criticizing the some- 
what narrow aim which he placed before himself, 
due account must be made for the spirit of the 
times in which he lived. The great efforts of Bell 
and Lancaster — of the National Society for the 
Education of the Poor in the Principles of the 
Established Church, and the British and Foreign 
School Society, which sprang respectively from 

18 



for want of a Proper Foundation. 

the work of these two pioneers, had not had time 
to produce important results when Birkbeck 
started his classes. Moreover, the nation had at 
that time no general appreciation of its moral 
obligation as to the education of the people ; 
and the government being in the hands of the 
upper classes, there were no such motives to pro- 
vide schools for the lower classes as those which 
produced the Act of 1870, when they had become 
the " masters." So that whatever may be said of 
Birkbeck's aim, it had, at least, the merit of placing 
before the country a very practical object to be 
attained by the instruction of the working-classes. 
But as we look back on his work after the event, 
and with our greater educational knowledge, 
gained from practice as well as supported by 
modern theory, we are ready to prophesy its 
failure ; knowing, as we do, that the elemen- 
tary principles of science cannot be acquired by 
those who have had no preliminary intellectual 
training, who possess no elementary knowledge, and 
who are for the most part unable to read, and are 
ignorant of the rudimentary principles of arithmetic. 
So that we are prepared to say that Birkbeck 
was neither giving special training to those who 
would have themselves to apply the discoveries of 
science to industry, nor was he attempting to 
give that kind of education which was best cal- 
culated to counteract the deadening and mechanical 
3 19 



Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. 

influences of constant contact with the monotony 
of machinery. 

To excite interest in machinery itself may in- 
deed have been one means of counteracting these 
influences ; but even if such interest could be 
maintained, without that basis of education which 
can alone provide a foundation for a progressive 
study of the principles of science, this means can 
only affect one side of the question. The views of 
those who shared Birkbeck's opinion are well 
carried out in Brougham's discourse " On the 
Objects, Pleasures, and Advantages of Science," 
one of the first publications of the " Society for the 
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge," founded in 1827. 
As we now read this discourse, explaining as it 
does with " simplicity of expression and familiarity 
of illustration," such matters as the method of 
logarithms, the different mathematical curves, the 
laws of motion, the principles of astronomy, optics, 
and electricity — in fact, resuming in summary all 
that was then known in science — we must feel that 
the uneducated workman may, on first reading 
this discourse, have been interested in all the 
marvels displayed before his eyes ; but he must 
speedily have discovered that he was unable to 
pursue their study with any chance of fathoming 
their mysteries, and he must have been reduced 
to that state, with regard to which it may truly be 
said, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 

20 






Mechanics' Institutions — 

Birkbeck's classes at the Andersonian Institution 
offered all the appearances of success at the outset. 
The first of his lectures was attended by seventy- 
five persons ; the second, by two hundred ; at the 
third, more than three hundred workmen were 
present ; and at the fourth, above five hundred. 
He soon turned his attention to England, with no 
less success. Between 1815 and 1825, Mechanics' 
Institutions were founded in all parts of the land. 
In the year 1841, in which Birkbeck died, there 
were no less than two hundred and twenty of these 
Institutions, about thirty-six of which were in 
London and the suburbs. A large number of 
these failed to achieve the object for which they 
were created. Sir Philip Magnus, in a lecture 
which he delivered at the Cambridge Summer 
Meeting of 1900, summarized their history in the 
following words : — " The history of most of these 
institutions is very similar. Some of them, such 
as the institutes of Manchester, Huddersfield, and 
Leeds, kept alive long enough to be converted into 
Technical Schools. Others, however, led a lan- 
guishing existence, and degenerated into clubs, or 
changed the character of their work, or ceased to 
exist. Very few succeeded to the extent expected 
by their founders, and yet their failure was in no 
way due to any fault in their conception nor in their 
objects. It was due, in the first place, to the want 
of adequate funds, and secondly, and equally, to 

21 



Their Failure — 

the absence among the workmen, whom they were 
intended to benefit, of the rudiments of primary 
education." 

From the failure of the Mechanics' Institutions, 
we may learn another lesson. It teaches us the 
impossibility of building up any general system of 
education without looking far ahead into the future, 
and foreseeing the ultimate meeting and harmony 
of efforts starting from points widely apart in the 
present. Birkbeck wished to teach his uneducated 
workmen the scientific principles underlying the 
construction of the new machinery and the pro- 
cesses of manufacture with which they had to deal. 
The benevolent and philanthropic can never con- 
template with resignation the inexorable laws of 
nature, which condemn a large number of indi- 
viduals to the backwaters of the stream of 
progress ; and in the struggle which they wage 
against these laws they not infrequently neglect 
the opportunities for promoting in the surest and 
most natural way the future development of man- 
kind. The education of ignorant adults can at 
best be regarded as a benevolent palliative for 
existing wrongs. That the workmen in Birkbeck's 
time were ignorant and incapable of appreciating 
the application of the discoveries of science to the 
processes of manufacture undoubtedly exposed 
the nation's neglect of its own interests, and of 
its duty to the lower classes, on whose labour its 

22 



and its Causes. 

very existence depended. But the only way of 
remedying this, so as to ensure the future prosperity 
of the nation, was by educating the rising genera- 
tion. 

Some educational philanthropists are, however, 
like the man in the fable, who was in charge of 
a lighthouse, and who gave to the people, starving 
in the huts around it, the oil from the lamps, with 
the result that the ships which were bringing 
them food were wrecked on the rocks for want 
of a guiding light. Such philanthropists are too 
prone to use the resources at their command as 
palliatives of present distress rather than as safe- 
guards against future disaster. Others, again, are 
anxious to gather the ripe fruits of their work in 
their lifetime, and to this end promote growth 
by artificial means, which are bound ultimately 
to destroy by their unnatural strain the very 
sources of productiveness. It may, indeed, be said 
that in the beginning of the nineteenth century 
many voluntary efforts, and, as we shall see later 
on, a number of the efforts of the State as well, 
took the form of a series of experiments, one after 
the other of which proved abortive, to arrive at 
a given educational end by a shorter route than 
that which conforms to the directions of nature. 

For reasons which have already been pointed 
out, the nation, as represented by the central 
government, has never, during the last century, 

23 



Educational Needs of Industrial Classes. 

seriously thought out the whole question of a 
national system of education as Germany and 
France have done. Otherwise the failure of Birk- 
beck's experiment would have led them immedi- 
ately to provide proper elementary education for 
the working-classes. This, as we have seen, was 
not done until 1870. In the mean time, however, 
the great efforts of the National and the British 
and Foreign Society had been doing all that 
voluntary effort could do to provide elementary 
education for the children of the poor. Thus, when 
the State first interfered in the special interests of 
the education of the industrial workers, there was 
some sort of foundation on which it might build. 
It was, therefore, able to start its work under more 
favourable conditions than those which Dr. Birk- 
beck had to face. But, before considering this 
work of the State, we must refer again for one 
moment to the two classes of persons who were 
chiefly affected by the application of the dis- 
coveries of science to the processes of manufac- 
ture. 

In the first place, as we have already remarked, 
there were those who were destined to continue 
among the lower ranks of mechanics, and who were 
thus affected by the destruction in great measure 
of their independence. For them, education in 
its broadest sense was necessary ; an education of 
which the first duty was to counteract the mental, 

24 



Educational Needs of Industrial Classes. 

moral, and physical evils of the new conditions of 
labour ; in short, what is generally understood by 
elementary education. If these people could com- 
plete their elementary education by some instruc- 
tion in the principles of science, so much the better. 
But for them, the first thing essential was not a 
knowledge of the principles of science, to say 
nothing of the fact that such a knowledge cannot 
be acquired, as was proved by the failure of Dr. 
Birkbeck's experiment, without the preliminary 
training afforded by the elementary school. 

But, in the second place, there was that class of 
persons who would be called upon to control the 
new forces introduced into industry. This class 
may be divided roughly into two divisions : those 
who, in their capacity of masters or managers, are 
the leaders of industry, and the heads of great 
enterprises, and those who occupy a position 
corresponding to that of a foreman. The know- 
ledge required by the former is evidently much 
greater than that necessary for the latter. In fact, 
while the leaders must have had the best scientific 
training possible, and have mastered all the higher 
branches of science bearing on the manufacture or 
industry with which they will be concerned, the 
latter cannot be expected to afford that expendi- 
ture in time and money demanded by so arduous 
a course of studies. It is certainly more difficult 
to decide what should be the education of the 

25 



Educational Needs of Industrial Classes. 

latter class than what kind is best suited to the 
requirements of the former. 

It is the custom to select a foreman from the 
best of the workmen, in much the same way as a 
noncommissioned officer is selected in the army. 
His position is not always one which requires 
superior knowledge so much as a certain natural 
talent for managing and directing his fellows. If, 
therefore, it is essential that he should rise from 
the ranks, it is difficult to see how he is to be 
provided at the outset with a better education 
than the ordinary workman. If opportunities are 
within his reach for continuing his education 
in his spare time, after he has begun to earn his 
living, he will be sure to take advantage of 
them if he intends to rise. His need of special 
knowledge beyond that of the ordinary workman 
is so slight that it can hardly be worth the nation's 
while to provide special day-schools, directly in 
continuation of the elementary school, to complete 
his education. And, it is hardly necessary to add, 
no education will ever bestow the qualities of 
command. 

It must be remembered that it is to the nation's 
interest to give every opportunity to talent to 
reach its natural high-water mark ; there is cer- 
tainly no reason, or at any rate, no justification, 
for its spending money in checking the rise of 
talent by premature specialization. In this 

26 



The Preservation of Talent. 

connection the fact is sometimes overlooked that, 
although the science of education is still very 
largely based on hypotheses which have not been 
finally proved, it is beyond doubt that the pro- 
cess of education must conform to the course 
of the pupil's natural development. Starting from 
a broad basis, it gradually narrows its limits until, 
to use, for the sake of illustration, a geometrical 
figure, it closes in upon, and finally proceeds along, 
a line of specialization, naturally selected by the 
pupil. It generally happens that the greater the 
talent, the longer is the point of specialization 
delayed ; and consequently the broader is the 
sphere of general culture which the course of 
development embraces. If education can have any 
effect whatever on this development— and that it 
has a very great effect can hardly be denied — 
it can certainly stunt it by forcing a pupil to 
specialize before he has selected his natural line. 
And, if existing social and economic conditions 
make it impossible for all talented children of the 
poorer classes to receive the highest education for 
which they are fitted, we can at least bring some 
redress by refusing to sanction any attempt to kill 
talent by an artificial stunting of natural develop- 
ment through education ; we can at least offer a 
broad, general elementary education for the child 
who is compelled to earn his living at the age of 
thirteen or fourteen, and allow him to continue this 

27 



The Preservation of Talent. 

education in the evening school according to his 
natural taste. To attempt to supplement his 
elementary education by a course of specialized 
training, extending over two or three years, so as 
to fit him for the duties of a foreman, is morally 
wrong, a financial extravagance, and will incur an 
ultimate loss of talent to the nation. 

How this has been done in France as a check on 
social aspirations will be seen in a later chapter ; 
in England, with our present social organization, 
such a check is unnecessary. If any education 
higher than elementary is to be provided for those 
children who can afford to stay at school until the 
age of sixteen, but not later, it should be of such a 
kind as will promote and not retard the general 
development of talented pupils. The technical 
day school for children between the ages of thirteen 
and sixteen has, therefore, no place in a system 
of national education which is built up with due 
regard to natural laws and national economy. 
And yet the English Government attempted to 
provide such schools alone, when it did at last 
begin to consider the educational foundations of 
trade and industry. 



23 



CHAPTER III. 

THE ATTEMPTS OF THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT 
TO LAY EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS. 

When the struggle between oligarchy and demo- 
cracy was at its height, an event happened which 
warned the English people of the existence of 
other nations competing with them in trade and 
industry. In 185 1 the first International Ex- 
hibition was held in Hyde Park. To this ex- 
hibition foreign countries brought the products 
of their industry, and we were able to compare 
them with our own. The effect of this com- 
parison seems to have been to warn us that the 
taste and training of our manufacturers was 
sadly deficient. Owing to the influence of the 
Prince Consort — who, when all is known, will 
probably be found to have seen deeper into our 
educational needs than any one else of his time — 
the profits from this Exhibition, amounting to 
;£i 86,436, together with a parliamentary grant of 
£150,000, were devoted to the purchase of land in 
South Kensington. The Prince Consort, in a letter 

29 



The International Exhibition of 1851. 

to Lord Playfair, propounded, in connection with 
the use to which this land should be put, a scheme 
of "instruction for those engaged in the prosecu- 
tion of arts and manufactures." As a direct 
consequence of his efforts, the Science and Art 
Department was formally established in 1853. 
This does not, however, represent the first recog- 
nition by the State of its duties with regard to the 
education of the industrial classes. In 1837 the 
Committee of Trade (now known as the Board of 
Trade) extorted a sum of ^"1500 from the Treasury 
for the creation of a central Government School 
of Design, and in 1841 provincial schools of design 
were started with the aid of Government grants. 

To the influence of the Prince Consort is due the 
gathering together and focussing at South Ken- 
sington of the scattered forces then existing,* so 
that one department of the Government might be 
able to control all industrial education. This was 
the result of the warning to the nation as to foreign 
competition sounded by the International Ex- 
hibition of 185 [. That this warning did not bring 
about the establishment of a national system of 
education, in which the Government controlled or 
supervised schools of all types, was due, as we have 

* Note also the foundation of the Royal College of Science under 
a different title in 1851. It was not, however, until more than 
twenty years later that this institution was transferred to South 
Kensington. 

30 



Creation of Science and Art Department. 

already seen, to the fact that the people had not 
yet carried out that change in the form of govern- 
ment on which they were bent. Until this change 
was accomplished, the Government could not 
command their confidence, and thus itself acquire 
that sense of permanency without which it could 
not attempt to adopt a consistent and far-reaching 
policy. 

The Science and Art Department was created 
to control and organize industrial education. 
Before we consider the work which it has done in 
England, it is necessary to have some idea of the 
difficulties which it had to face at the outset. Dr. 
Birkbeck's experiment had proved — for those to 
whom it needed proving — the impossibility of im- 
parting scientific knowledge to adults who had 
received no general elementary education. The 
Science and Art Department, therefore, recognized 
that elementary education must form the founda- 
tion of its work. Not only was all such education, 
however, provided at that time by voluntary effort, 
but it was not until three years later that the Educa- 
tion Department was appointed to exercise some 
sort of State supervision over these efforts. And so 
hopelessly did the voluntary schools fail to meet 
the national demand that, even in 1870, when the 
great Education Act was passed, it was discovered 
that although in London, with an estimated popu- 
lation of 3,258,000, there were, according to the 



State of Elementary Education. 

Government's method of calculating, 543,000 
children requiring education, there was actually 
accommodation for 373,314 only. Further, when 
the Government inspectors came to investigate this 
accommodation, they discovered that it only pro- 
vided for 275,136 children in efficient schools. 
From this it may be judged what was the state of 
affairs over the whole of England ; and it must be 
remembered that these figures represent what was 
being done nearly twenty years after the creation 
of the Science and Art Department, although the 
interval had witnessed extraordinary efforts on 
the part of voluntary societies to make proper 
provision for elementary education in England. 
What chance had a Government Office to build up 
a system of education on such a foundation as this ? 
In 1856, when the Education Department was 
created, it seems to have occurred to the Govern- 
ment that it would be advantageous to the educa- 
tion of the working-classes if the State control of 
all their schools were centred in one body. Con- 
sequently the Science and Art Department was 
removed from the Board of Trade to the new 
Education Department, which thus included 
branches for the control of primary as well as 
industrial education. After the Act of 1870, when 
the primary branch had received a mandate from 
the people to insist on the provision of primary 
schools in sufficient number to meet all national 

32 



Blunder of Government. 

needs, there must have appeared to the educational 
enthusiast of the day a very excellent chance for 
the two united branches to build up a national 
system of education — in so far as the lower working- 
classes were concerned. But in 1884 the Science 
and Art Department was separated from the 
primary branch, which was henceforth known 
by the distinctive appellation of the Education 
Department. This was, undoubtedly, a great 
mistake, and shows how far the Government still 
was from any idea of a national system of educa- 
tion. The quite unnecessary rivalry, which was 
thus created between these two branches, led to 
much extravagance and much waste of energy ; 
indeed, it took a good many years for the Educa- 
tion Department to wrest from the Science and 
Art Department certain powers over primary 
schools which it had acquired. 

If other countries had made the same blunders, 
we might feel inclined to say that only experi- 
ence can prove that it is impossible, by starting 
from the bottom and ignoring all that is actually 
being done in the higher spheres, to build up a 
national system of education, or even a satisfactory 
system for the working-classes. But other countries 
have not made the same blunders, a fact which such 
authorities as Matthew Arnold never ceased to 
point out. When reporting in 1886 on elementary 
education in Germany, Switzerland, and France, 

33 



Matthew Arnold's Warning. 

Matthew Arnold closed with these memorable 
words — 

" And this brings me, thirdly and finally, to the 
point raised at the end of my first remark, and 
urged by me so often and so vainly ever since my 
mission abroad in 1859; our need to organize our 
secondary instruction. This is desirable in the 
interest of our higher and secondary instruction, of 
course, principally ; bat it is desirable, I may say 
it is indispensable, in the interest of our popular 
instruction also. Every one now admits that 
popular instruction is a matter for public insti- 
tution and supervision ; but so long as public 
institution and supervision stop there, and no 
contact and correlation are established between 
our popular instruction and the instruction above 
it, so long the condition of our popular instruction 
itself will and must be unsatisfactory." 

It seems, however, to have been decreed that only 
the experience of failure should bring home this 
apparently self-evident truth to the minds of the 
English people. The disastrous effects of attempt- 
ing to build up an educational system, while 
ignoring what was being done in higher spheres, 
soon made themselves felt. An educational system, 
like most other things possessing vitality, has a 
tendency to grow upwards. The primary school 
naturally presses up into the secondary sphere, and 
the secondary school into the university sphere. 

34 



Secondary Schools and Universities. 

If each of these higher spheres present insuperable 
obstacles to the natural growth of these schools, 
the lower branches of the system will be diverted 
from their natural course and develop along a 
line of their own. We have only to look at the 
proceedings of nature on all sides to perceive that 
this is a general law governing the course of all 
progressive forces. The chief aim of human 
economy is to assist all forces to attain their 
ultimate aim with the least waste of energy, and, 
therefore, to derive from them the maximum of 
benefit. This is generally achieved by the removal 
of obstacles and the lessening of friction — in other 
words, by organization. Before coming to any 
conclusion as to how this organization can best be 
carried out so as to meet the needs of our indus- 
trial and commercial classes, the conditions which 
have characterized the development of our higher 
educational system in the past must be taken into 
account. 

At the beginning of the nineteenth century there 
was in England only one kind of education at the 
disposal of those who were in so fortunate a 
position as not to be obliged to place any limit on 
the expense or duration of their school career. 
Our secondary schools and universities alike pro- 
vided a classical course of studies alone. Their 
object was, and for long had been, to educate 
gentlemen and scholars. If the gentleman had the 

4 35 



Education of Gentlemen and Scholars. 

makings of a scholar in him, so much the better ; 
if not, his education was conducted on the lines 
which it had followed since the days of the 
Renaissance. Skill in various sports, and some 
acquaintance with classical languages and litera- 
tures, were considered indispensable to his culture. 
Such an education cost money, and, fortunately or 
unfortunately, proved a great attraction in the 
days of sharp social distinctions to any man who, 
having risen through trade to a position of wealth, 
found himself able to procure it for his sons. At 
the beginning of the century, however, obstacles 
were thrown in the way of all Nonconformists, 
practically precluding them from this education, 
and it was not until after a hard fight that their 
disabilities at the universities were removed. So 
that, in the early days of the industrial revolution, 
a very large number of our manufacturers and 
commercial men regarded the traditional education 
of an English gentleman as something associated 
with a religious faith which they abhorred. But 
once the disabilities were removed we find that 
such men were quick to avail themselves of their 
new privileges, and that the attendance of their 
sons at the universities rapidly increased. 

As every gentleman who did not enter the Navy 
or Army considered residence, at a university as an 
essential part of his preparation for life, our uni- 
versities were obliged to provide education for 

36 



Classical Education. 

men with brains and men with a very ordinary 
mental capacity, two classes which are, on the 
whole, fairly represented to-day at Oxford and 
Cambridge by what are popularly known as 
Honours men and Pass men. The man with- 
out brains was not educated in a different way to 
the man who was fortunate enough to possess 
them — the difference was one of quantity rather 
than of quality or method. All received a classical 
education which, in those days, when the horizon 
of knowledge was infinitely more restricted than 
at present, was all that was considered worthy 
of the scholar. And our secondary schools pre- 
pared for the universities, and were supposed to 
offer but a more elementary course of the same 
classical studies. 

So long had classics held undisputed sway of 
the field, that teachers had arrived at peculiar 
skill in adapting what now seems to us the 
limited material at their disposal to the demands 
of education. So carefully had they thought out 
the particular mental training which was provided 
by the different sections of these studies, that it 
must have been exceedingly difficult for them to 
find a place for new instruments of culture in their 
complete schemes, without destroying the whole 
balance of the education which they furnished. 
This explains their not unnatural opposition to 
the new branches of learning, which rushed into 

37 



Conservatism of Universities. 

the field of human knowledge following the rapid 
discoveries of science. Moreover, it must be re- 
membered that the idea of utility had never entered 
into their calculations. Having only to consider 
the needs of scholars, whose first object was not 
merely to earn a living, and of those gentlemen 
who could not hope to rise to the intellectual 
heights of scholars, but who rarely had to look 
forward to the necessity of gaining their own 
livelihood, it had never occurred to teachers and 
professors that it was part of their duty to pre- 
pare students to meet the more practical demands 
of life. Had they been obliged to do so we might 
not now be behind other nations in the education 
which we offer to our industrial leaders. 

It is exceedingly important, in view of the 
present difficulties which we experience in or- 
ganizing our educational system, to recognize at 
the outset these two objections on the part of the 
universities to the introduction of new studies into 
their curricula. For we find to-day that the 
scholar is too often not less conservative and not 
less prejudiced against any departure from tra- 
dition than those who base their claims to social 
superiority — and it may even be to political prefer- 
ment — on their inheritance from the past rather 
than on their own personal merit. This, coupled 
with the not unnatural dread of upsetting a care- 
fully balanced scheme of studies, perfected by three 

38 



German Universities and National Life. 

hundred years of experience, is at root the cause 
of the strife which is waged hardly less bitterly 
to-day between classical and modern studies. 

There was only one thing which could have 
forced the universities to widen their course of 
studies so as to keep pace with the marvellous 
scientific progress of the first half of the century. 
Had there been any strong external opposition, 
such as we have seen would have compelled the 
people to build up a national system of education, 
the universities might have been led to consider 
what they could do through education to assist 
the nation in its struggle. But, as we have seen, 
this did not exist, and the country was busy with 
internal reforms, with which conservative univer- 
sities could, as a whole, have but little sympathy. 
Indeed, generally speaking, it may be said that in 
England the university authorities have never 
taken that interest in the affairs of the nation 
which is to be found in those countries where the 
national instincts have been aroused by the shock 
of foreign opposition. In Germany, for instance, 
the university professor is ever watching the trend 
of national affairs, and is always considering how 
his work can best be made to serve the national 
cause. He is not a mere scholar, cut off by the 
walls of his cloisters from the great movements 
which are disturbing and trying the strength of the 
people outside. There are, certainly, disadvantages 

39 



Scientific Education. 

in allowing the teaching world to be affected by- 
political influences. But nobody who has had 
an opportunity of comparing the German univer- 
sities with our own can deny that there is a very 
distinct advantage when professors, and all those 
who determine the destinies of universities, are 
imbued with a keen sense of the importance of the 
various forces on which national welfare depends. 
None of these forces are to be despised, even if 
they are directed towards the promotion of occu- 
pations from which by tradition the upper classes 
held aloof. Indeed, it is owing entirely to Ger- 
many's national difficulties, as we shall see later 
on, that an educational policy arose which opened 
a path by which talent in all ranks of society 
might attain to the highest culture, and which 
endeavoured to provide the kind of school most 
suitable as a preparation for the different classes 
of occupations. It is not until the German nation 
had established itself firmly, and that the dread 
of foreign attacks was diminished, that we find 
social prejudices as to the different courses of 
instruction again in evidence. 

Jt was not until 185 1 that an honours examina- 
tion in natural science was created at Cambridge. 
Two years later Oxford followed the example of 
Cambridge. We may take these dates as marking 
the first serious attempt in England to place 
science on a level with the classical languages as 

40 



Utilitarianism and Idealism. 

a subject of instruction and a means of intellectual 
discipline. Thus, at last, was some special oppor- 
tunity given to the leaders of industry to acquire 
that theoretical knowledge of scientific principles 
which was necessitated by the revolution which 
had taken place in the processes of manufacture. 
The secondary schools were naturally followed by 
the universities ; but the modernizing of these 
curricula was only carried out in accordance with 
the proportion existing between the classical and 
science scholarships offered by the universities. 

The director of a German technical school, which 
played a leading part in the development of tech- 
nical education in his country, has remarked : 
"Technical education designed exclusively to 
meet the demands of a special occupation would 
isolate the technicist from civic life by which he 
is surrounded, and would alienate him from the 
ideal interests of society." So prevalent has this 
view been in Germany, that great emphasis has 
always been laid on the acquisition of general 
culture in the technical high schools. These institu- 
tions have indeed adopted the highest educational 
aims of the university ; and so far have they 
succeeded, that in some cases candidates for the 
teaching profession in secondary schools are 
allowed by the authorities to prepare in them to 
teach mathematics and natural science. 

It can hardly be denied that our leaders in 

4i 



Utilitarianism and Idealism. 

commerce and industry can as ill afford to be 
strangers to the ideals of the human race as other 
members of society. The development of our 
technical schools in England, and, it may be said, 
of all the special education of our industrial classes, 
has so far been dominated by that spirit of realism 
which owes its power in this country to the hopes 
that were raised in the human mind by the dawn 
of the great age of scientific discovery. There 
have not been wanting in all countries philosophers 
to preach the advent in the near future of such 
discoveries as would enable us to explain the 
motive of all human action. With the new ex- 
ample of machinery ever before their eyes, con- 
forming with mathematical precision to certain 
inexorable laws of force, people readily believed 
that all mysteries would soon be explained, and 
that human action, in its individual, social, and 
international aspects, must also conform to certain 
fixed laws which ignored the eccentricities of 
idealism. Such laws, it was hoped, would remove 
all need of the controlling influence of those mys- 
terious aspirations on which have been based in 
the past the distinction between right and wrong. 
According to an eminent contemporary French- 
man,* the return to idealism is a consequence of 
the bankruptcy of science ; for those of us who 

* M. Ferdinand Brunetiere. Cf. "La Renaissance de l'ldeal- 
isme." 1S96. 

42 



Utilitarianism and Idealism. 

have not, as he has, an extreme cause to defend, it 
is rather due to the return of the human mind to 
a normal temperature, after the feverish excitement 
of the years in which science first placed super- 
human forces under the control of man. The old 
moral code has again resumed that supremacy 
from which the doctrine of self-interest had for a 
short time ousted it. All but a few sturdy un- 
believers now recognize that society depends for 
its existence on the cohesive force supplied by the 
old moral and aesthetic aspirations. 

The doctrine of self-interest found a congenial 
atmosphere in the England of the latter half of the 
nineteenth century. The stern struggle for indi- 
vidual liberty against the stubbornly yielding 
forces of conservatism, tends to throw men back 
upon their own individual resources, and to lead 
them to believe that individual interests offer the 
highest aim to human wishes. On the other hand, 
history teaches us that, where ideals are strongest 
— not necessarily the highest — nationalism is most 
potent. And, in a certain sense, the converse is 
also true. Where we find unity forced upon a 
nation in face of external opposition, there we also 
find idealism prevailing over realistic doctrines. A 
contemporary author, who has probably done more 
than any one else to reawaken the sentiment of 
nationhood in England, has remarked : — 

" Prussia deserved the position at the head of 

43 



" True Hearts and Clear Heads." 

Germany which she won in 1866, and maintained 
in 1870. It had been her peculiar distinction that, 
in the days of her misfortunes, . . . her patriots 
sought and found the path of national regeneration. 
They thought that the way to make Germany a 
great nation was to create in the Germans the 
qualities that produce national greatness. True 
hearts and clear heads were the great requisite." . . .* 

In industrial England, the tendency has been to 
consider in our education clear heads alone. A 
consequence of this one-sided striving after a 
sharpening of the individual intellect, has been a 
neglect of due attention to those common ideals 
which constitute the basis of national life. The 
philosophical reasons here suggested may explain 
the rise of that utilitarian spirit which has led to 
premature specialization in education. A more 
immediate cause may be found in the political 
conditions to which we have already referred. 

The Exhibition of 185 1 did, indeed, open the 
eyes of the people to the need of the better educa- 
tion of our industrial classes. On the advice of 
the Prince Consort, the Society of Arts organized 
a series of lectures on the results of the Exhibi- 
tion. Mr. (afterwards Lord) Playfair delivered one 
of these lectures on " The Chemical Principles 
involved in the Manufactures of the Exhibition as 
indicating the Necessity of Industrial Instruction." 

* Mr. Spenser Wilkinson, " The Great Alternative," p. 72. 1894. 

44 



" The Horses or the Harness." 

In this lecture he insisted on the fact that "it is 
abstract and not practical Science that is the life 
and soul of Industry." And from many passages 
which are well worth reading to-day, the following 
may be quoted in continuation of the foregoing 
assertion : — " The cultivators of abstract Science, 
the searchers after truth, for eternal truth's owri 
sake, are — to borrow a simile, I believe, of Canning 
— the horses of the chariot of industry ; those who 
usefully apply the truths, are the harness by which 
the motion is communicated to the chariot. But 
is the chariot drawn by the horses or the harness ? 
Truth to say, in this country of ours — and, mark 
you well, in no other country in Europe — we 
honour the harness, but neglect the horses. . . . 
The cause would appear to be that we chiefly 
honour those who are useful in our time and gene- 
ration ; that our eyes are too eagerly bent upon 
the golden prize, for which we are all running ; 
and that we can only afford to throw a kind of 
theoretical squint of recognition on those men 
who are looking for sublime truths, careless as to 
whether they will have any immediate effect on 
industrial progress. And yet it is these very men 
that give strength to the sinews of a future genera- 
tion, enabling it to keep its place in the industrial 
struggle of nations." These words were spoken 
fifty years ago, and since then the nation has 
learned to appreciate at their true value our 

45 



" Bricks without Straw." 

greatest men of science ; but we have not yet 
learned the need of the highest kind of scientific 
training for our leaders of industry. To con- 
tinue the above simile : we now feed the horses, 
but we pay little attention to the quality of the 
harness. 

The Science and Art Department, when it began 
its work as the official organizer and controller of 
industrial education, experienced, in a higher sphere, 
precisely the same difficulties as led to the failure 
of Dr. Birkbeck's efforts. This would have been 
foreseen by the Government — as it was foreseen 
by all thoughtful men of the period — if external 
opposition had obliged the people to consider the 
whole question of education from a general national 
point of view. But, as we have seen, this was not 
the case ; and the Science and Art Department 
was commissioned by the State to do the best it 
could to build up an important part of the national 
system on insecure foundations. The Government 
of Egypt, when it set the children of Israel the 
task of making bricks without straw, did so with a 
distinct purpose, in that it wished to increase their 
burden by throwing upon them the responsibility 
of finding straw for themselves. Our Government 
threw the same responsibility upon the Science 
and Art Department, but it did it in ignorance 
of the fact that straw was necessary for its bricks. 
The Department consequently spent a great part 

46 



Government and Secondary Education. 

of its time and energies in an attempt to find 
straw, and has only succeeded in the making of 
bricks when, like the children of Israel, it has used 
stubble in its stead. 

When once, by the Act of 1870, the Science and 
Art Department was at last furnished with a proper 
basis of elementary education, it still found that the 
secondary schools provided little more than the 
old-fashioned and one-sided classical education. 
The persistence of these schools * in maintaining 
this type of education has unfortunately strength- 
ened the hand of those who hold an extreme 
view, and would altogether banish classical studies 
from the secondary education of boys who are 
destined to promote the trade and industry of our 
country. Indeed, this persistence has brought all 
literary studies, modern as well as classical, into 
disrepute among a certain class of people. 

The Science and Art Department, which was 
commissioned by the nation to build up a system 
of industrial education, now found the duty thrust 
upon it of remodelling the classical secondary 
schools, so that they might offer a proper founda- 
tion on which it could build. But this was a task 
which it was in no way qualified to undertake. 
The more satisfactorily it was constituted to build 
up a system of instruction in science and art, the 
less was it fitted to determine the general course 

* As influenced by the universities ; cf. p. 35 et sqq. 

47 



Premature Specialization. 

of studies which must not only form a foundation 
for its own special designs, but must also satisfy- 
other far different conditions affecting national 
prosperity. For it is through secondary education 
that a man is trained not only to learn his future 
bread-winning occupation, but also to fulfil his 
wider duties as a citizen. And as we have already 
seen, from an educational point of view, there is a 
period in the course of general development which 
is occupied with the general adaptation — intellec- 
tual, moral, and physical — to all that composes the 
modern environment. Secondary education covers 
the greater part of this period. The " special " 
idea, associated with future bread-winning occupa- 
tions, belongs to a later stage. 

We shall see below that the whole strength of 
the German system, the prime cause of its suc- 
cessful providing of true hearts and clear heads, is 
to be found in the determined efforts which have 
been made to adapt secondary education to the 
requirements of the natural development of the 
pupil. Looking at the time-tables of the three 
different kinds of German secondary schools, one 
would conclude that the framers of these had 
argued in somewhat the following manner : " A 
man has to spend his life in certain intellectual 
and moral surroundings. From these surroundings 
he must, to a very large extent, derive his mental 
and moral sustenance, and at the same time he 

4 8 



Premature Specialization. 

must be able to conquer all influences in them 
which are detrimental to his mental and moral 
well-being. It is, therefore, essential that he 
should be so educated that he may be as thoroughly- 
adapted, mentally and morally, to these surround- 
ings, as he must needs be physically. His mental 
and moral development must, therefore, follow those 
lines which will lead him into contact, under the 
guidance of the educator, with all the influences 
of his future surroundings. Let us, therefore, con- 
sider in what these influences consist, and what 
branches of knowledge correspond to them. All 
of these branches must be represented in the 
secondary schools, where he spends not the least 
important portion of that period during which 
general development takes place. If in future life 
he is .destined to be a scholar, and to dwell in 
surroundings impregnated with the thoughts and 
learning of the ancients, he will not on that account 
be cut off from the influences of science and of 
modern thought. The secondary school must not, 
therefore, teach him classical languages and litera- 
ture alone. If, on the other hand, he is destined 
to spend his life in the surroundings of modern 
industry, where science reigns supreme, he will not 
on that account be cut off from the influences of 
literature, of art, and of religion. The secondary 
school must not, therefore, provide him merely 
with instruction in science." The Germans have, 

49 



Premature Specialization. 

consequently, weighed the respective values of the 
different branches of knowledge, and determined 
the influence which must be allowed to each in 
secondary studies. But it is doubtful whether 
they would ever have arrived at this appreciation 
of the common features in the surroundings of 
different classes of men, if they had not first been 
forced to recognize the common duties imposed 
by nationality. America, as will be shown later 
on, has led in a remarkable degree to the same 
result by very different causes. 

By adhering steadily to such principles — though 
they may not represent the final truth of the 
science of education— blunders such as we have 
made may be avoided. In our modern secondary 
schools science has been allowed to oust other 
subjects, on the plea that they will not be " useful " 
in industrial occupations. Religion has been the 
first to go, and in many secondary " Schools of 
Science," under the direction of the Science and 
Art Department, it is not taught at all. Men who 
have been trained in such schools must find them- 
selves strangely out of touch with their surround- 
ings, unless their parents have undertaken to make 
good the deficiencies of their education. Again, 
insufficient time has been given to modern lan- 
guages ; therefore the men who have been brought 
up in these schools, have not only been isolated 
from the thoughts of foreign countries, but have 

50 



Premature Specialization. 

found themselves seriously handicapped if engaged 
in commercial pursuits. 

When it is said that the Science and Art Depart- 
ment is responsible for the cardinal error of our 
education, namely, premature specialization, it is 
not intended to suggest that the fault is altogether 
to be laid at the door of that office. It has all 
along acted up to its lights ; the fault lies much 
more with the people and the Governments who 
have entrusted the organization of our modern 
education to a body created with one special 
object, and with one special mission in no way 
directly concerned with secondary education. 
Again we are brought back to the common root 
of all such errors — the want of a national feeling 
which can alone produce a national system of 
education. Had there not been this want, even 
the doctrine of "utility," which has found no 
little favour in English educational circles, might 
have saved us from many of the faults which we 
have committed. 

A careful consideration of the educational 
foundations of trade and industry provided by 
i foreign countries will lead to the conviction that, 
in those very countries which are supposed by us 
to owe their success to their schools, considerations 
of the future occupation of a boy have not been 
allowed to weigh so much as in England with 
regard to the choice of subjects for his secondary 
5 51 ' 



Premature Specialization. 

education. It would, therefore, appear that we are 
wrong in asserting that Germany, for example, is 
every year becoming a more formidable rival for 
us in trade and industry because of her technical 
education. This is but a partial truth. We have 
directed quite as much attention to the provision 
of special education for industry as Germany, but 
with this difference. We have allowed this special 
education to commence in the secondary school, 
whereas Germany has endeavoured to postpone it 
till after the completion of secondary education, 
and has succeeded in so far as that national system 
is concerned which she has built up under the 
control of the central Government. We, on the 
other hand, have allowed and encouraged our 
Government to transform the modern "sides" of 
our secondary schools into technical schools of a 
more or less specialized type. A large number of 
our old grammar schools found themselves, in the 
latter half of the century, without those financial 
resources which would enable them to meet the 
demands for secondary education of a modern, in 
contrast to the classical, kind. The Government 
decided — with the consent of the people un- 
doubtedly, because it was now democratic in its 
form — that financial aid should only be given to 
these schools by, or under the regulations of, the 
Science and Art Department. But this Depart- 
ment was only permitted by law to aid technical 

52 



" Higher Grade " Schools. 

education ; consequently it could only give financial 
assistance to the grammar schools in consideration 
of the technical education which they provided. 
Unless we are ready to admit that the people and 
their representatives in Parliament are strangely 
ignorant of the laws which have been made by 
Parliament, we must conclude that this transforma- 
tion of the modern sides of our grammar schools 
into technical schools was undertaken deliberately 
by the nation. 

But while the people and their representatives 
in Parliament thus infringed the fundamental 
principles of education, the offices to whom were 
entrusted the administration of the Education 
Acts were allowed to make confusion worse con- 
founded. These offices encouraged school boards 
to create, illegally as it has recently been decided, 
" higher grade " schools * which offered technical 
education of precisely the same kind as that pro- 
vided by the " modern sides " of the grammar 
schools. As a consequence there ensued a bitter 
rivalry between those grammar schools and higher 
grade schools which both conformed to the regu- 
lations of the Science and Art Department — a 
rivalry which did not tend to promote the interests 

* This is not the place to discuss the "illegality" of evening 
continuation schools supported by the public rates. Their 
"illegality" is a fact which can no longer be disputed; but it 
points to the extraordinary neglect of Parliament to provide for all 
necessary kinds of education. 

53 



Reform. 

of education. For these two types of school com- 
peted for public favour — as represented by the 
grants of money for technical instruction — by 
offering the greatest quantity of technical education 
possible. This, in short, has been the only work 
of the Government in support of English secondary 
education. 

We are now, however, entering upon a period 
of reform. In face of external opposition, a 
national feeling is slowly but surely springing 
into existence. The popular appreciation of the 
need for a national system of education was recently 
expressed in the passing of the Board of Education 
Act, which aimed at creating an educational 
Ministry with branches to preside over primary, 
secondary, and technical schools. All our energies 
must now be directed towards the organization of 
our secondary education. Until we provide in 
the secondary sphere a broad general basis of 
instruction, we cannot expect to train our com- 
mercial and industrial leaders so that they shall 
be equal to those of our foremost foreign rivals. 
Our older universities have had the opportunity 
of reforming our secondary schools, and have 
refused it. The task must now be undertaken 
by the people themselves, represented by local 
authorities under the guidance of an enlightened 
central government. It will probably be by 
pressure from below that the universities will be 

54 



Foreign Educational Systems — 

compelled to recognize that a spirit of conservatism, 
ever lagging behind in the march of progress, 
cannot offer a healthy educational influence for 
those who have to contend against the modern, 
culture of foreign nations. Already there is a 
widespread feeling that Oxford and Cambridge 
bring influences to bear on the sons of the men 
of industry and commerce which disqualify them 
for the occupations of their fathers. Such men, 
therefore, turn to the newer universities which are 
springing up in different parts of the land. The 
great danger is that these may go to the other 
extreme, and ignore that spirit of culture which 
proceeds from the moral and aesthetic ideals of the 
human race. Will it also be pressure from below 
which will come to save these newer universities 
from these dangers which beset them ? 

The increasing attention which is paid in this 
country to foreign systems of education, must give 
rise to some misgiving, though, on the other hand, 
it may be regarded as a hopeful sign. How com- 
plicated is the study of foreign systems, is shown 
by the fact that our system of technical education 
was professedly designed in imitation of that of 
Germany ; and yet no two systems could be more 
utterly different. To such an extent have we been 
misled by those who have pretended to a knowledge 
of German education. Among these many of the 
Germans themselves who are our welcome guests, 

55 . 



And their Exponents. 

are most to be mistrusted. Often they ingenuously 
describe to us the systems of their youth, forgetting 
that the Fatherland has also grown older and 
wiser since they left its shores. Many earnest 
members of school boards, speaking little French 
and less German, after a too short visit to foreign 
countries, have returned to extol the virtues of 
foreign schools to their admiring fellow-citizens. 
But imitation of foreign countries will never help 
us to build up a national system of education. 
The first thing we learn from a careful comparative 
study of foreign schools is that each nation must 
build up the educational system best suited to its 
own requirements, and best adapted to the natural 
genius of its people. When once this fact has 
been firmly grasped, we may learn much if we 
ponder the causes which have produced sharp 
contrasts or striking similarities among the systems 
of the four great nations in the van of modern 
civilization. The succeeding chapters have been 
written in the hope that they may throw some 
light on this phase of the subject. 



56 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE FOUNDATIONS LAID BY GERMAN 
GOVERNMENT. 

It has been remarked, in a preceding chapter, 
that the Prussian organization of education has 
been the model for most of the other German 
States, whose systems have been, during the last 
century, and still appear to be, assimilating them- 
selves to that of Prussia. To thoroughly appre- 
ciate this fact, it is necessary to understand the 
causes which have led Germany to accept Prussia 
as her head and leader. No more than a very 
brief outline of these causes can be given here. 

By the peace of Westphalia, in 1648, the dis- 
union of Germany was formally consecrated for 
the benefit of France, who henceforth became the 
dominant power in Europe. The old Empire now 
became a medley of States under independent rulers, 
owing, nominally, allegiance to an Emperor who 
was in reality nothing more than the head of the 
Austrian Monarchy. The rulers of these States, 
who revelled in their independence, were encouraged 
by France to accept her protection against all 

57 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

interference from their nominal head. We have, 
therefore, on the one hand, Austria, endeavouring 
to bring these States into an Empire which should 
be more than a mere name, and over which she 
should preside ; on the other, France, who, having 
by her clever diplomacy and the assistance of her 
arms brought about the disruption of the old 
Empire, was determined that it should not be al- 
lowed again to become an obstacle to her ambitions 
as arbiter of the destinies of Europe. 

About this time a rival to Austria began to rise 
into prominence : the Prussian Monarchy now 
commenced to extend its borders, and to aspire 
to the headship of Germany. Prussia had, indeed, 
one advantage which Austria did not possess, for 
she was exclusively German in her interests, while 
Austria was composed of peoples only a part of 
whom were German. The situation was, therefore, 
briefly this. Prussia, with a better claim than 
Austria, was attempting to build up a new German 
Empire under her direction. Austria naturally 
opposed this attempt. France naturally found it 
to her interest to resist any endeavour to restore 
German unity, whether under Prussia or Austria. 
Besides these three parties in the game, there is 
also a fourth to be considered, namely, the inde- 
pendent German States, whose rulers were anxious 
to maintain their independence at all costs and by 
whatever means. 

58 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

At the beginning of the nineteenth century 
France, under the leadership of Napoleon, subdued 
the three other parties — Austria, Prussia, and the 
independent States. In the struggle that followed, 
so great was the mutual distrust of Prussia and Aus- 
tria, that they were unable to co-operate against the 
common enemy ; and it was not until the Prussian 
people revolted against the indignities heaped upon 
them by the French, that Prussia threw in her lot 
with the enemies of Napoleon. The present Prus- 
sian system of education may be said to be popular, 
in that its foundations were laid in the national 
feeling which was aroused at this time by French 
opposition. It was at this moment, when the 
Prussian people were aroused to the need of 
national reconstruction, and statesmen worthy in 
every way to give practical effect to the popular 
will had arisen, that the value of national education 
was for the first time properly appreciated. The 
spirit which was then breathed into the Prussian 
system of education is not yet dead, for later events 
have tended to keep it alive. 

When Napoleon was finally overthrown, the 
hostility between Austria and Prussia again ap- 
peared at the Congress of Vienna, which met to 
restore the balance of Europe. The rulers of the 
independent States, who had for the most part 
fought on the side of Napoleon, were still opposed 
to any restoration of the German Empire. France 

59 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

and Austria, taking advantage of this feeling, and 
also of the inability of the King of Prussia to 
appreciate the aims and ideals of the Prussian 
patriots, now again succeeded in throwing in- 
superable obstacles in the way of German unity 
under the leadership of Prussia. 

When the people of Germany realized how their 
wishes had been disregarded by their rulers, and 
how the great wars had merely resulted in a new 
assertion of prerogatives and a fresh ignoring of 
their rights, a strong tendency towards liberalism 
set in among them. In 1848, when the great revo- 
lutionary wave swept over Europe, this feeling took 
practical effect. " The Germans of those days might 
have called themselves Liberal-Unionists. They 
were Liberals because they had been overdosed with 
divine rights, and Unionists because they wanted 
to be a nation. There were between thirty 
and forty divine rights in the country, each of 
them endued with authority, or, as it was called, 
sovereignty, over a region large or small, the 
largest being the kingdom of Prussia, and the 
others of various sizes down to little duchies 
like Saxe-Coburg-Gotha." * The first national 
Parliament of Germany assembled at Frankfort 
in response to this outburst of feeling. This Parlia- 
ment made a constitution, settled the boundaries 
of the proposed Empire — leaving Austria outside — ■ 

* Spenser Wilkinson, "The Great Alternative," p. 53. 

60 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

and elected as Emperor, Frederick William IV., 
King of Prussia. Austria being joined by Russia 
in her opposition to this scheme, Prussia declined 
the dangerous honour of presiding over the sug- 
gested constitutional Empire. 

This Parliament did, however, achieve some- 
thing, in that it formally pointed to Prussia as the 
natural leader of the German nation. Thus had 
the people, who at the beginning of the century 
had recognized only an intellectual and aesthetic 
metropolis, now at last come to perceive the 
necessity of a political capital where would be 
centred all the forces proceeding from the common 
national sympathies and antipathies. Weimar, 
where Goethe and Schiller had presided over the 
consolidation of the intellectual Empire of Ger- 
many, was now to be replaced by Berlin, where 
Bismarck was, by his diplomacy, directing all 
political tendencies towards one definite aim. 

The overthrow of Austria, and of the rulers of in- 
dependent German States who were still opposed 
to unity, in 1866, left France as the only enemy to 
the establishment of a German Empire. The war 
of 1870 not only destroyed the opposition of 
France, but further consolidated German unity by 
restoring to the newly founded Empire territories 
which had been stolen by the French in time of 
peace. 

It was such success as this which first recom- 

61 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

mended the educational system of Prussia to the 
rest of Germany. An English writer has already 
been quoted as stating that Prussia deserved the 
position at the head of Germany, which she won 
in 1866, and maintained in 1870; for she had 
learnt that the requisites to national regeneration 
were true hearts and clear heads. And, con- 
tinuing, he says — 

"An army under the command of genuine 
leaders is a good school of duty ; and, in the hand 
of Scharnhorst and his companions, the Prussian 
army taught one generation of Germans to obey, 
to endure, and to die. Stein and Hardenberg re- 
shaped a number of institutions with a view to 
bind rich and poor together in the bonds of a 
common welfare. Fichte, W. Humboldt, Niebuhr, 
and their fellows strengthened the foundations of 
that part of education which is given by the school 
and the university. The aim was not to give every 
man the whole of knowledge, but to give each man 
the particular knowledge necessary to enable him 
to do his particular life's work, as well as the 
general knowledge required to make a good 
citizen. 

" From this ideal resulted a public school system 
which, in spite of faults, made the Prussians the 
people among whom the general knowledge con- 
veyed by primary and secondary instruction was 
most widely spread and most fully developed. . . . 
The system aimed at quality, not quantity. Each 
student was trained to spontaneous effort, and 
taught a method, and he became himself an active 
searcher, seeking to enlarge the bounds of know- 
ledge in the particular region which he had 

62 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

entered. Thus, for every career in which know- 
ledge is an element of success, there were Prussians 
better equipped than most of their competitors in 
other countries. In the army and all branches of 
the public service the professional knowledge 
gradually came to be the indispensable condition 
of advancement. The universities became genuine 
fountains of knowledge, corporations organized to 
acquire and to spread a deeper insight into nature 
and human life than had existed before. A 
generation of German teachers became the teachers 
of their class all over the world. Until a few years 
ago, university professors outside Germany were 
little more than the channels through which the 
teaching of the German masters found its way 
more or less diluted, to the pupils." 

There are two points which are particularly 
worthy of notice in connection with the reorganiza- 
tion of Prussian education between 1808 and 181 8. 
The first is that W. von Humboldt, who was the 
first head of the reorganized education department, 
was a man who had formerly been strongly opposed 
to all State interference in education. Events had 
taught him, however, as only such events as he 
had witnessed can teach, that the State must 
undertake to provide proper schools, suitable in- 
struction, and, what is still more difficult, effective 
methods of education for the people. And this 
brings us to the second point. It was not know- 
ledge alone that was necessary to make the people 
who had been defeated at Jena into a nation, 
strong to resist one of the most powerful foes 

63 



The Making of Modern Germany. 

which the world had seen, and able to recover from 
the state to which they had been reduced. 

Something, it is true, could be done by political 
enactments, freeing the people from burdens and 
restrictions imposed on them in the interests of the 
ruling classes. But more than this was necessary. 
The Government had in the past been merely an 
institution for maintaining the ruling dynasty and 
the officials dependent upon it. From the people 
it demanded obedience and a mechanical per- 
formance of duty. The shock with the armies of 
Napoleon taught Prussia that even in war the 
strength of the conqueror does not consist merely 
in the obedience of the forces which he commands. 
Military writers are inclined to overlook the fact 
that the genius of Napoleon could not have 
defeated the greatest armies of Europe, had it 
not been served by the spirit of freedom and the 
enthusiasm of individual responsibility which the 
French Revolution had sown in the breasts of his 
soldiers. The Prussian statesmen of that time, 
however, perceived this fact ; and the greatest of 
them, Stein, recognized that the work of education, 
which had now to be undertaken by the State, must 
not be directed towards the inculcation of passive 
obedience, but rather towards the fostering of self- 
activity and self-reliance among the people to 
whom they looked for the regeneration of the 
nation. So that, at what may be considered the 

6 4 



Pestalozzi. 

initiation of the State control of the modern 
German educational system, considerations of 
method — of the meaning and aim of education 
itself, rather than of its outward form or the field 
of knowledge which it was to command — were 
forced upon the officials to whom this control was 
committed. This is a necessity to which such 
officials have never yet been reduced in England. 

The method of education needed was ready to 
the hand of the organizers of the Prussian system. 
Amidst the din of battles and the fall of kingdoms, 
the son of a Zurich doctor had been trying educa- 
tional experiments, one after the other of which 
had proved a financial failure. An unpractical 
idealist he seemed to many ; and yet his loving 
devotion to the poor and oppressed, his persever- 
ance in spite of failure and innumerable disappoint- 
ments, won for him ultimately such worship from 
all classes of society as is rarely vouchsafed to 
man. The most distinguished people of the time 
travelled far to see him, and to express their 
admiration for all he had done to educate the 
destitute and helpless. The one person who is 
said to have turned from Pestalozzi with the remark 
that there were more important things than the 
learning of the A.B.C., was Napoleon. And yet 
there was probably no man who did more to 
remove the traces of Napoleon's work in Germany 
than Pestalozzi. 

65 



Pestalozzi. 

The whole of Pestalozzi's life was spent in an 
active protest against all that was dead and 
mechanical in the educational methods of his 
time — methods which are unfortunately still too 
common. The mere teaching of words, as opposed 
to things ; the presenting to the child of " a crowd 
of ready-made judgments, which he may hold in 
his memory, but which leave his power of thinking 
inactive, and tend even to paralyze it"; that 
instruction which is based on the passive obedience 
of the pupil, and commands his acceptance on 
authority of what he cannot understand, this it 
was that Pestalozzi considered most harmful in the 
existing methods of education. To him the child 
was a living, active being, whose development, 
whether physical, mental, or moral, followed a 
certain natural course. " Man develops the fun- 
damental elements of life, i.e. his love and faith, by 
the exercise of love and faith ; those of his intel- 
lectual life, that is his thought, by the exercise of 
his thought ; those of his practical or industrial life, 
that is the power of his organs and his muscles, by 
the exercise of this power. Man is urged by the 
very nature of the forces within him to employ 
them, exercise them, give them all the develop- 
ment, all the perfection, of which they are capable." 
And it is this self-activity which, according to him, 
should form the basis of all education. 

Pestalozzi may be said to have founded technical 

66 



Pestalozzi. 

education, in that he insisted that practical skill was 
one of the necessary acquirements of education. He 
maintained, however, that practical skill presup- 
posed intellectual training, without which it could 
not be successful. Above all, what he sought to 
form, were men fully developed ; free, and worthy 
to enjoy freedom ; self-active, and employing their 
self-activity in the realization of their own highest 
capacities, for the good of themselves and those 
fellow-citizens to whom they were united by the 
bonds of love and a common responsibility to their 
country. Such, in brief, was the theory of educa- 
tion which the founders of the modern German 
system found ready to their hands. They adopted 
it, and, thanks to it, they built up a nation of self- 
dependent men strong in their self-activity. 

It is impossible to exaggerate the benefit it was 
to Prussia to be obliged, at the outset, to consider 
methods rather than the outward form of education. 
Had it not been for national disaster this might 
never have been necessary. It may be said that 
the effects of this are still felt, and in every 
German school, in every meeting of German 
teachers, there is an appreciation of the higher 
aims and purposes of education which we do not 
commonly find in England. When we first estab- 
lished a system of education for the children of the 
poorer classes, we were not urged on by any need 
for national regeneration ; we were not reduced to 
6 67 



Quality before Quantity. 

a position where it was imperative that we should 
reconsider the foundations of our national strength, 
and use every means in our power to restore 
it to heights from which it had been cast down. 
We were merely forced by the final establishment 
of democracy, as our form of government, to see 
that the lower classes learned to read and to write, 
and to calculate. And it must be admitted — not 
without feelings of humiliation — that until the end 
of last century in England the State was chiefly 
occupied in providing a sufficient quantity of 
education, a sufficient number of "school places," 
and paid but little attention to the quality of its 
education, regarding methods of instruction and 
educational theories as fit only for the contempla- 
tion of faddists or enthusiasts. 

The science of education founded by Pestalozzi 
was not certainly complete or final, and it was not 
accepted as such by the educational reformers 
whom Prussia employed at the beginning of the 
century to restore her fallen fortunes. But it was 
a science, and it did offer a basis on which might 
be gradually built up the true science. It ensured, 
therefore, methodical progress : not the mere 
haphazard adoption of methods or subjects of 
instruction in obedience to a passing whim or an 
ephemeral need, but the thoughtful fitting in of 
subjects into a well-organized scheme, and the 
careful readaptation of methods of teaching to the 

6$ 



Quality before Quantity. 

ever-new discoveries of educational science. And 
it is a remarkable fact, in connection with the State 
control of education in Prussia, that, as that control 
has increased, there has at the same time been an 
increasing tendency on the part of the State to 
demand the best expert opinion on proposed 
changes. Each far-reaching and important change 
has been preceded by a conference of experts, 
representative of all shades of opinion. In short, 
we may say that educational progress in Prussia 
has been evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, 
in the strictest sense of the term ; whereas the 
best defence that can be made for corresponding 
progress in England is to be found in the fact 
that it has followed a process of broadening 
down from precedent to precedent, a formula 
which is conveniently adaptable to any course of 
progress, however irregular, and however defective, 
so long as it is not marked by any extraordinary 
energy or vitality, and never gives evidence of 
revolutionary tendencies. 

Too much emphasis cannot be laid on the fact 
that Pestalozzi ignored social distinctions in his 
educational system. Consequently, in such a 
country as Germany, his opinions might not have 
had great weight had he not had the good fortune 
to preach in a time of national adversity.* 

* Though the work of Herbart, which may be said to have 
supplemented that of Pestalozzi, cannot be considered here, its 
importance cannot be overrated. 

69 



Social Prejudices. 

Educational reformers find their strongest 
opponents in those classes of society who owe 
their position and their raison d'etre to tradition. 
And it is always to these classes that the sup- 
porters of old-fashioned and discredited educational 
theories turn for support. In England, we know 
how cleverly social prejudices have been pressed 
into the service of educational conservatism. Often 
the question of classical versus modern education 
has been fought out on the argument that Latin 
is essential to the education of a gentleman ; and 
thus infinite damage has been done to the cause 
of classical education itself, by leading the most 
influential persons to overlook the true issues 
at stake. We find somewhat the same thing 
happening in Germany, whenever the external 
pressure from other nations has temporarily 
subsided, and the national aim has no longer 
overshadowed all others. But, fortunately for 
Prussia, this was not the case during the years 
devoted to the foundation of her educational 
system. 

Nothing can be more instructive for the purpose 
in hand — that of a comparative study of the 
education of the men of industry and commerce 
in different countries — than to glance at the 
development of the Prussian Realschulen, the 
schools that now fill the place which our modern 
secondary schools are supposed to occupy in our 

70 



The Realschulen. 

own educational system. At the end of the seven- 
teenth century Francke remarked : u The man who 
does not take up classical studies has, nevertheless, 
a need of knowing the principles of astronomy, 
geography, physics, and history, and of everything 
connected with the government of his country, if 
he wishes to become an intelligent man, and of 
use to the Commonwealth." In 1706, Christoph 
Semler opened a mathematical and mechanical 
Realschule in Halle. His object was not the 
same as that by which Dr. Birkbeck was guided 
nearly one hundred years later ; he did not 
propose to instruct uneducated adults in the 
scientific principles underlying trade or industry. 
In this school a teacher explained to poor children, 
for an hour every afternoon, the principles of 
handicraft and manufacture. In 1738, the school 
was restarted on a wider basis, and some slight 
opportunities were given to the children of the 
upper classes also to attend these lessons. In 
1747, Julius Hecker started a Realschule in Berlin, 
which may, from its objects and its organization, 
be regarded as the true parent of all schools of 
the same type. He had for long been occupied 
with attempts to improve the elementary schools 
in his district ; he then turned his attention to 
the foundation of a secondary school for the 
children of the cultivated middle classes. His 
foremost idea seems to have been to provide 

71 



The Realschulen. 

general culture, and the technical training which 
his school offered seems to have occupied quite 
a secondary place. The subjects of instruction 
were : Religion, German, Latin, French, Writing, 
Arithmetic, Drawing, History, Geography, Moral 
Instruction, and the Elements of Geometry, Me- 
chanics, and Architecture. The success of the 
school surpassed all expectations. In 1762, the 
number of pupils attending the institution was 
1095, of whom 91 were boarders and 300 free 
scholars. Perhaps the most important part which 
it played in the promotion of the Realschule idea 
was by the establishment of a training college for 
village teachers, which received the royal patron- 
age and a Government subsidy, and from which 
a number of trained teachers went forth to spread 
the new idea. Frederick II. built up his Royal 
Realschule on the private and voluntary efforts 
of Hecker and his successor. A number of similar 
schools were soon established in different parts 
of Prussia and Germany. 

It is impossible here to trace through all its 
vicissitudes the history of the Realschulen.* These 
schools appear to have appealed particularly to 
those classes of the people whose interests seemed 
to clash with those of the higher ranks of society. 
So that, in 1848, when the revolutionary and 

* I have used the German forms Realschulen, Gymnasien, etc., 
rather than Anglicized plurals of German words. 

72 



The Realschulen. 

democratic wave sweeping over Europe spread to 
Prussia, we find considerable efforts being made 
to procure for this modern type of school the 
same privileges as were possessed by the classical 
Gymnasium. But, as we have seen in the brief 
review of the history of Prussia, the effect of the 
revolutionary feeling of this epoch was to create 
a desire in Germany for unity on a liberal and 
constitutional basis under the leadership of Prussia. 
When, however, Prussia hesitated to accept the 
leadership on the liberal conditions imposed by 
the rest of Germany the whole scheme broke 
down, and for a time a natural reaction followed. 
During this period the Realschulen fared ill. It 
was not until Prince William (afterwards the first 
Emperor of the new Germany) became Regent 
in 1858 that Prussia again placed national con- 
siderations before all others. 

In 1859 the State definitely assumed responsi- 
bility for the Realschulen, and official programmes 
were published. Three grades of these schools 
were recognized, the first having an eight years' 
course with Latin, the second a seven years' course 
without Latin, and the third a six years' course 
without Latin. The programme of the schools of 
the first grade was as follows : — 



73 



The Realschulen. 



Religion 

Mother tongue 

Latin 

French 

English 

Geography and History 

Natural Science 

Mathematics and Arithmetic 

Writing 

Drawing- 



VI. 


V. 


IV. 


III. 


II.* 


I.* 


3 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


4 


4 


3 


3 


3 


i 
O 


8 


6 


6 


5 


4 


3 


— 


5 


5 


4 


4 


4 


— 


— 


— 


4 


3 


3 


n 
3 


3 


4 


4 




3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


b 


b 


5 


4 


6 


6 


5 


5 


3 


2 


2 


— 


— 


— 


2 

30 


2 

3i 


2 
32 


2 


2 


3 


32 


32 


32 



The lowest grade of these schools, with only a 
six years' course, and without Latin, seems origi- 
nally to have been intended to be a sort of higher 
primary school. It is interesting to observe that 
all three grades were declared officially " to possess 
a common aim — that of assuring a general scien- 
tific preparation for those vocations for which 
university studies were not requisite." It is also 
worthy of notice that Latin was retained in the 
highest of these three grades, " not only because 
of its importance as leading to a knowledge of 
the relations between modern civilization and an- 
tiquity, but, above all, for its undeniable utility in 
the study of modern languages, which can only be 

* Two years were spent in each of these classes. It may be 
mentioned here, once for all, that in practically all foreign schools 
one year is spent in each class. The advantage of this arrangement 
over that common in England is self-evident. 

74 



The Realschulen. 

learned superficially unless supplemented by the 
study of Latin." And, further, as showing the 
kind of educational spirit by which the Prussian 
Government was moved, the following words may 
be noted, offering an official explanation of the 
lines on which the new programmes had been 
designed : " To insure thoroughness and a proper 
assimilation of knowledge, it is essential that one's 
efforts should be confined within certain fixed 
limits. The science of education is always rein- 
forcing the truth of this experience : that when seed 
is sown too thickly the field is less productive." But 
it must not be imagined that when the Realschulen 
were once finally established by Government the 
fight was won. This event merely marked the 
commencement of an organized agitation in favour 
of granting the same privileges to the new educa- 
tion as were already possessed by the old. Pupils 
obtaining the leaving certificate of a gymnasium 
were admitted to the universities and all higher 
institutions ; those holding a similar certificate 
from the Realschulen obtained little more than a 
reduction of the years of compulsory military 
service. In 1869, the ministry of education con- 
sulted the universities as to whether they would 
grant full privileges to the pupils of the Real- 
schulen ; when they replied in the negative, the 
Government took the matter into its own hands, 
and threw open to the pupils of the highest grade 

75 



The Realschulen. 

of Realschulen * the philosophical faculty of the 
university, and admitted them to the examinations 
for teachers of mathematics, natural science, and 
modern languages. 

The next great reform took place in 1882. The 
programmes for the classical Gymnasien under- 
went considerable modification in a modern direc- 
tion. The hours devoted to Latin and Greek were 
reduced, and greater time was allotted to French, 
mathematics, history, and science. The system of 
Realschulen was remodelled : the highest grade, in 
which Latin was taught, now received the name of 
Real-gymnasium, and its course was lengthened to 
nine years. The lower grade was combined with 
an existing type of technical school to form what 
was called the Ober-Realschule, a modern secon- 
dary school, also with a nine years' course, but with- 
out Latin. The Realschule with the six years' 
course now finally became a secondary school, 
and threw off all higher primary tendencies. It 
was considered not as a crowning to the primary 
system, but as providing the irreducible minimum 
of secondary education for those who could not 
afford a nine years' course. It adopted the pro- 
gramme of the lower classes of the Ober-Real- 
schule, and thus formed an integral part of the 
secondary system. Too much emphasis cannot 

* Corresponding to the present Realgymnasium as described in 
the succeeding paragraph. 

76 



Conference of Experts. 

be laid on this principle, which should be com- 
pared with that guiding the development of the 
higher primary schools of France (cf. p. 162 et sqq.). 

The next great reform took place in 1892. The 
present Emperor stated, in a Royal proclamation 
issued in 1889, that he had for a long time been 
occupied with the problem of how to make the 
school useful for the purpose of counteracting the 
spread of socialistic and communistic ideas. In the 
same year a decree was issued directing modifica- 
tions in the historical teaching in the State schools. 
In 1890, a conference was summoned to consider 
certain changes, mostly of a modernizing and anti- 
classical nature, which the Emperor advocated for 
Prussian secondary schools. The composition of 
this conference is instructive. Of the forty-three 
members summoned, two were factory owners, one 
was a medical man, and five were representatives 
of the clergy ; thirty-six were actually engaged in 
teaching, or held 'public educational positions, 
proving that they had formerly distinguished them- 
selves in the scholastic profession. The Emperor 
opened this conference in a characteristic speech, 
in which he dealt with the important questions to be 
decided. The conclusions of this conference were 
ultimately embodied in the official " curricula and 
programmes for the secondary schools of Prussia." 

Before entering into any details as to the changes 
which were now made, a few considerations may 

77 



The Kaiser and the Schools. 

not be out of place as to the methods adopted 
on this occasion by the Prussian Government 
for reforming the schools under its control. 
There is a prevalent idea in England that the 
schools are used in Prussia for the inculcation 
of those principles which are favoured by the 
Government. This is often advanced in support 
of arguments against the State control of schools 
in England. It is, no doubt, true that the present 
Emperor has made an attempt to direct the 
teaching of the secondary schools against certain 
doctrines which he has believed to be harmful to 
national unity and strength. But it is impossible 
for such an attempt to succeed unless only those 
teachers are appointed who hold precisely the 
same views as the Emperor ; for no man can be 
forced to teach history in such a way as will 
support views in which he does not himself 
believe. It is, however, impossible to select 
teachers for the Prussian secondary schools on any 
such principle, the supply in the training seminaries 
being, if anything, below the actual demand. 
Whatever may have been the Emperor's intentions, 
he was bound to fail in any attempt to impose 
his will in this or other respects on the whole 
teaching body. 

The action of the Prussian Government, when it 
thinks it necessary to reform its schools, is indeed 
in marked contrast to that of our own under 

73 



The Influence of Experts. 

similar circumstances. Our Government permits 
its officials to make what changes they like for the 
benefit of the schools under its control. Such 
changes are made by the officials — hardly any of 
whom have had educational experience beyond 
that of their own boyhood — generally without 
consulting experts or even the Government in- 
spectors. The autocrat King of Prussia, on the 
other hand, calls to his assistance the most en- 
lightened representatives of the teaching pro- 
fession. It is likewise significant that, while our 
Government takes little or no interest in the 
question of secondary education, the Kaiser thinks 
it of such importance to the nation that he himself 
opens the conference which is to decide important 
reforms in its organization, and even places before 
it his own carefully thought out and original views 
as to its aims. 

The system of secondary education in Prussia, 
as remodelled by the Congress of 1890, will be 
seen from the following official time-tables.* 

* I have adopted the translation of these tables made by Mr. 
W. G. Lipscomb ("Special Reports" of the Education Depart- 
ment, vol. 3). Boys generally enter this secondary school when 
they are nine years old. Where hours are bracketed together it 
signifies that one teacher should be entrusted with the subjects to 
which they relate, and that the hours may be divided between these 
subjects as the school authorities desire. The normal time-table 
of the Realschule is the same as that for the first six classes, or years, 
of the Oberrealschule. But this may be changed according to the 
requirements of special districts. Such changes have been carried 
out in table D. 

79 



Prussian System of Secondary Schools. 



A. — Time-table for Gymnasien (Classical Schools). 





VI. 

^ 3 
3) 

4| 
i J \ 

8) 

V 

V 
V 

1- 

2 
25 


V. 

2 

8) 

2 

4 

2 

2 
2 

25 


IV. 
2 

;i 

4 

2 
2 

4 

2 
2 


IIlB. 

2 
2 

7 
6 

3 

2 
I 

3 

2 

2 


IIIa. 

2 
2 

7 
6 

3 

2 

1 

3 

2 

2 
30 


IlB. 

2 

3 

7 
6 

3 
2 
1 

4 
2 

30 


IIa. 

2 

3 

6 
6 
2 

3 
4 

2 
28 


IB. 

2 

3 

6 
6 
2 

3 
4 

2 
28 


Ia. 

2 
3 

6 
6 

2 

3 
4 

2 
28 


Total. 


Compared 

with 
formerly. 


German and 
Historical 

Narration . . 

History and 
Geography . 

Arithmetic 

and Algebra 
Natural His- 

Physics, Ele- 
ments of Che- 
mistry, and 
Mineralogy . 

Drawing .... 


19 
26 

62 
36 
19 
26 

34 
8 

10 

4 
8 


+ O 

+ 5 

— i5 

— 4 

— 2 

— 2 

(See 

German). 

+ 

— 2 

+ 2 

+ 

+ 2 




28 


30 


252 


- 16 



B. — Time-table for Realgymnasien (Modern Schools with 

Latin). 



Compared 

with 
formerly. 



Religion 

German and 
Historical 
Narration. . . 

Latin 

French ...... 

English 

History and 
Geography . . 

Arithmetic 
and Algebra 



VI. 


v. 


IV. 
2 


IIIb. 

2 


IIIa. 
2 


IlB. 
2 


IIa. 
2 


Ib. 
2 


Ia. 


Total. 


3 


2 


2 


19 


3| 


2) 


















l 4 l 


3| 


3 I 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


28 


1) > 


1) > 


















8) 


8) 


7) 


4 


4 


3 


3 


3 


3 


43 


— 


— 


5 


5 


5 


4 


4 


4 


4 


3i 


— 


— 


— 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


18 


}* 


2 


2 

2 


2 
2 


2 

2 


2 
1 


3 


3 


3 


28 


V 


4 


4 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


42 



+ o 

+ I 

— II 

— 3 

— 2 

— 2 
(See 

German). 

— 2 



80 



Prussian System of Secondary Schools. 





VI. 


V. 


IV. 


IIIb. 


IIIa. 


IIb. 


1 

IlA. IB. 


Ia. 


Total. 


Compared 

with 

formerly. 


Natural His- 
tory. 

Chemistry and 
Mineralogy . 

Writing 

Drawing .... 


2 

}- 

2 
25 


2 

2 
2 

25 


2 

2 
29 


2 

2 
30 


2 

2 
30 


3} 

2 
30 


3 

2 
30 


2 
30 


~ 3 } 

2) 
2 

30 


12 
12 

6 

4 
16 


± O 

± O 

± O 

± O 
— 2 




259 


— 21 



C. — Time-table for Oberrealschulen (Modern Schools 
without Latin). 















,, ! 








Compared 




VI. 


V. 


IV. 


111b. 


111a. 


IIb. IIa. 


1b. 


Ia. 


Total. 


with 










2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


19 


formerly. 


Religion .... 


3 


2 


2 


± O 


German and 


4| 


3| 




















Historical 


51 


4] 


4) 


3 


3 


3 


4 


4 


4 


34 


+ 4 


Narration . . 


1) > 


1) > 


> 




















6) 


6) 


61 


6 


6 


5 


4 


4 


4 


47 


- 9 




— 


— 


— 


5 


4 


4 


4 


4 


4 


25 


— 1 


History and 
Geography . 


}* 


I* 


2 

2 


2 

2 


2 
2 


2 
1 


3 


3 


3 


28 


— 2 

(See 


Arithmetic 


}s 




















German). 


and Algebra 


5 


6 


6 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


47 


— 2 


Natural His- 
























tory 


2 


2 


2 


2 


1} 


2 ) 


— 


— 


— 


12 


— I 


Physics 


— 


— 


— 


— 


2 


3| 


3| 


3| 


13 


— I 


Chemistry and 


}- 












> 










Mineralogy . 










2) 


3) 


3) 


3) 


11 


+ 2 


Writing 


2 


2 


2 

















± O 


Freehand 


}- 

25 






















Drawing . . . 


2 


2 


2 
30 


2 


2 


2 


2 
30 


2 
30 


16 
258 


— 8 


Total 


25 


28 


30 


30 


30 


- 18 



81 



Prussian System of Secondary Schools. 



D. — Specimen of Time-table of Realschule adapted to the 
Requirements of a Special District (see note, p. 79). 



Religion 

German and His- 
torical Narration 

French 

English 

History and Geo- 
graphy 

Arithmetic and 
Mathematics .... 

Natural History . . 

Natural Philosophy 

Writing 

Freehand Drawing 

Total 



VI. 


V. 


IV. 


in. 


11. 


1. 


Total. 


3 


2 


2 


2 


2 


2 


*3 


6) 


6) 


n 

6/ 


5 


4 


3 


28 


5 


4 


4 


31 


— 


— 


— 


5 


4 


4 


13 


}* 


2 


2 
2 


2 
2 


2 
1 


2 
2 


19 


}< 


4 


5 


5 


5 


5 


28 


2 


2 


2 


2 


]} 


5 


IO 

g 


2 


2 


2 


— 


6 


— 


2 


2 

28 


2 
30 


2 

29 


2 


10 


25 


25 


29 


166 



Compared 

with 
formerly. 



± O 

+ 7 

- 9 

± o 

- 3 

— 1 

- 3 
± 

— 2 

— 2 



- 13 



To appreciate the full purpose of this system, a 
knowledge is necessary of the different privileges 
bestowed by the various courses of study. At the 
end of each school course an examination is held, 
under the supervision of a Government commis- 
sioner, by the teachers attached to the highest class 
of the school The pupils who pass this examina- 
tion receive a certificate of maturity, as it is called. 
There are also lower certificates given, as will be 
seen from the following list. This list shows the 
chief privileges bestowed by the various certificates. 

Classical Gymnasium. — The certificate of ma- 
turity admits to the University for the study of 

82 



" Privileges " of Secondary Education. 

Philosophy, History, Classical Philology, Law 
Theology, Political and Economic Science and 
Medicine ; the Military Medical School at Berlin : 
the examination for the Teaching Profession.* 

Classical Gymnasium or Realgymnasium. — The 
certificate of maturity admits to the examination 
for the Teaching Profession (Mathematics, Natural 
Science, Geography and Modern Language) ; 
entrance examination for the Schools of Forestry 
(age limit 25) ; higher Military and Naval services 
(without special examination ; age limit 17 to 23). 

Gymnasium, Realgymnasium, and Oberrealschule. 
— The certificate of maturity admits to the Uni- 
versity for the study of Mathematics and Natural 
Science ; examinations for the Teaching Profes- 
sion (Mathematics and Natural Science) ; special 
examinations for Government Architects, Engineers 
(civil, constructive, machine, mining, marine) ; 
Woods and Forests Department and entrance ex- 
aminations to the Schools of Forestry ; higher 
appointments in the Post-office, Telegraph Service 
and Imperial Bank ; the Academic High School 
of Church Music. 

Gymnasium or Realgymnasium. — Seventh-year 
certificate f admits to Government Survey De- 

* The teaching profession referred to in this list is that of the 
secondary schools. 

t Certificates delivered on result of examination held at the end 
of the seventh year, and not at the end of the full course as in the 
case of certificates of maturity. 

7 S3 



" Privileges " of Secondary Education. 

partment (also obtained by the sixth-year certifi- 
cate with an additional course of study in special 
schools), dentists' examinations ; civil and military 
veterinary examinations ; higher Military and 
Naval services (supplemented by a special ex- 
amination — for this privilege " honours " must 
have been obtained in English at the certificate 
examination). 

Gymnasium,, Realgymnasuim, Oberrealschule* — 
Sixth-year certificate (or certificate of maturity of 
a Realschule) admits to one year's voluntary service 
in the Army or Navy ; examination for the Teach- 
ing Profession (drawing and gymnastics) ; High 
Schools of Art and of Music ; to the lower ranks 
of the Civil Service and Administration of State 
Railways (but not without special examination to 
posts demanding technical knowledge) ; the Royal 
Horticultural Institute at Potsdam (evidence of 
a certain knowledge of Latin required) ; Agri- 
cultural Schools at Berlin and Poppelsdorf; Phar- 
maceutical examination (additional knowledge of 
Latin demanded) ; Paymaster in the Army or 
Navy. 

It is, of course, a mistake to imagine that 
a nation is ever guided by one single aim in 
the development of its educational system. In 

* Certificates delivered on result of examination held at the end 
of the sixth year, and not at the end of the full course as in the case 
of certificates of maturity. 

8 4 



The National Aim. 

Germany, as much as in any other country, many 
and complex forces have been at work perfecting 
the growth of the schools. But one aim may be 
said to have dominated all others, and the nation 
has marched towards one fixed goal, however 
devious the paths it has followed, and however 
strong the attraction of side interests. As we have 
seen, this resultant singleness of purpose would 
have been impossible had it not been for the 
external pressure of foreign rivalry. Indeed, we 
find in the history of the movement that whenever 
this pressure has diminished, subordinate forces 
have invariably exerted a stronger influence. It 
is particularly interesting to notice how at such 
times social prejudices have gathered round the 
traditional classical education, and for the moment 
threatened, even if they have not definitely 
achieved, a retrograde movement. And yet, through- 
out the nineteenth century, we may trace in Prussia 
the slow and consistent development of the educa- 
tional system along lines which, from our distant 
standpoint, appear to have led straight and true 
towards the present consummation. Having pro- 
vided compulsory elementary education up to the 
age of fourteen for all children who were destined 
for the lower occupations of life, Prussia has at the 
same time brought the collective energy and 
wisdom of the State to bear on the education of 
those whose duty it is, in one capacity or another, 

8 5 



The Science of Education — 

to guide and direct the work of these lower classes. 
With deep respect for the results achieved by the 
experiments of such great educators as Pestalozzi, 
and of the scientific researches of such philosophers 
as Fichte and Herbart, her statesmen have been led 
to regard education as a scientific process, rather 
than as a mere privilege to be doled out to people 
in proportion to rights based on considerations of 
wealth or social position. The question has, there- 
fore, been : Which is the best kind of education 
that can be given ? and not, what is the greatest 
amount of education that can be allowed ? Having 
disposed, by the assistance of scholarships for free 
education, of the difficulties in the way of the 
education of the talented child of the poorest 
classes, it remained to provide the best kind of 
education for the two classes into which the rest 
of the population naturally divided itself. 

First, there were those who could afford to keep 
their children at school for an indefinite length of 
time ; secondly, there were those who were obliged 
to put their children to work at the age of six- 
teen or seventeen. Again, from another point of 
view — from that of their occupation in life — -this 
section of the population might be divided into 
the two following classes : those following the 
learned professions and those pursuing industrial, 
agricultural, or commercial pursuits. 

If education is a scientific process, it must 

86 



based on Natural Laws — 

conform to certain laws of nature. And the 
German scientists and philosophers have discovered 
— as, indeed, have the scientists and philosophers in 
every other country — that there are natural laws 
which rule the mental, moral, and physical develop- 
ment of man. When a nation has decided that 
its very existence depends on the education of the 
people, by which must be promoted their self- 
activity and self-responsibility, it will, in its con- 
siderations of education, view man as man, and 
not merely as a producer, a thinker, or a fighter. 
It will, therefore, as far as possible, insist that its 
education shall conform to the natural laws regu- 
lating the development of man. 

These natural laws may be expressed somewhat 
as follows. In the case of man, the period of 
physical infancy — that is to say, of dependence 
upon others — is much longer than in the case of 
other animals. And mentally and morally there 
is a period of infancy peculiar to man as distinct 
from the other animals. This infancy, depen- 
dence, or helplessness is due to the fact that nature 
demands that every organism shall be adjusted to 
its environment before it can live alone. The 
adjustment or fitting to the environment must, 
therefore, be watched over and guided by those 
on whom it depends. The watching over and 
guiding of this process of adjustment is the work 
of education. Nature alone determines what the 

«7 



Which must be obeyed — 

fully developed organism is to be, and by what 
steps it shall arrive at the final result. It is true 
that those on whom it depends during the period 
of infancy may interfere with this development ; 
they may have their own views as to the destinies 
of the organism, and they may prevent its proper 
adjustment to its environment, and hence its full 
capability of living alone in self-dependence and 
self-activity. The commonest way of thus inter- 
fering is to insist on special training for some 
future occupation before the organism has satis- 
factorily completed its natural development. The 
adjustment of man to his environment on the 
mental side, for instance, depends on his being 
fitted to live in the moral and intellectual sur- 
roundings of modern civilization. These surround- 
ings are formed by our religion, our art, our 
science, and our literature. To each of these the 
child must be introduced by those on whom it 
depends. If, therefore, it is decided that, before 
its adjustment to this environment is as complete 
as nature demands, the child shall be introduced 
by those on whom it depends to one section at 
the expense of the others, it will never become a 
fully developed man, self-dependent and self-active. 
Now, though in this argument principles have 
been touched on which relate to more or less 
modern discoveries of science, yet it illustrates 
truths which on the whole the German educators 

88 



and are obeyed in Germany — 

have fully recognized in building up their system 
of education. We do not find in Prussia the 
attempt which we find in England and France ; 
the State does not increase the quantity of the 
education of a child who has left the elementary 
school by forcing him through a course of special 
training before his general natural development is 
completed. On the contrary, it is held in Prussia 
that this natural development must be continued 
along general lines. If, for economic reasons, it 
cannot be continued as far as nature would demand, 
at any rate it is carried on as far as is possible 
under the circumstances. The State refuses to be a 
party to any spending of the resources of the nation 
on an education which breaks the laws of nature. 

It is on this account that we find the higher 
primary school gradually being transformed into 
or replaced by the Realschule — a secondary 
school for those boys whose parents can only 
afford to maintain them in a position of com- 
plete dependence up to the age of sixteen or 
seventeen. This school provides a similar educa- 
tion to that offered by the lower classes of the 
higher modern secondary school (Oberrealschule) 
for boys leaving at the age of eighteen or nine- 
teen. It is only necessary to study the time- 
tables of the Realschulen to see how carefully 
the principle of general development is observed 
for those boys who will not enter the learned 

8 9 



In Secondary Education. 

professions. And at the same time a glance at the 
time-tables of the classical schools will show that 
Prussia insists that even members of the learned 
professions shall have passed through a natural 
course of development ; for it is evident that they 
also must be adjusted to the surroundings of 
modern civilization in which they will be obliged 
to live. 

It may seem strange, to those who are familiar 
with the part that Germany has played in classical 
research, that her classical secondary schools should 
pay greater attention to modern studies than those 
of England. 

In a little book which has recently appeared in 
France,* the following testimony is borne to the 
German system of secondary education : — 

"Among the circumstances which favour German 
secondary education, should be noted the length ot 
time over which the studies are spread (nine years, 
starting from the sixth class) ; the almost entire 
absence of boarding schools, which thus frees the 
State from a mission for which it is scarcely fitted ; 
the decentralization, carried as far as possible, of 
administrative power, which is delegated in a large 
measure to the provincial councils ; the practice, 
constantly followed by the State, of decreeing only 
such changes of organization as are based on the 
success of tried experiments ; the principle, invari- 
ably put into practice, of giving the head-master 

* A Pinloche: " L'Enseignement secondaire en Allemagne," 
1900. 

90 



French Criticism of German Education. 

charge of the most important part of the teaching- ; 
the important part that the council of masters plays 
in effectively directing the studies ; the confiding 
of moral and religious instruction to the same 
educators as literary and scientific instruction ; the 
moral as well as educational rSle assigned to 
the principal master of each class ; the manner of 
recruiting the staff, each member of which, after 
passing a qualifying examination, has to undergo 
a twofold course of training which guarantees the 
State that he possesses, besides the special know- 
ledge requisite, certain indispensable pedagogic and 
professional qualifications ; lastly, from another 
point of view, the solicitude of the State for the 
material interests of its officers (who are paid their 
salaries quarterly and in advance without any 
deduction being made for their pensions) no less 
than for their widows and orphans, who, in addition 
to the grace term,* are assured a sufficient pension, 
however short a time the teachers may have 
served." 

Though it is only possible here to give a very 
brief and incomplete account of the Prussian 
system of secondary schools, there is one other 
important reform which must be noticed. So 
greatly do the Germans appreciate the value of 
general education, that they have asked them- 
selves if it is altogether wise that a boy should 
have to choose at the age of nine — when he enters 
the secondary school — between a classical and 

* They are always given a full term's salary in the case in which 
the teacher dies during the course of the term. If the teacher 
leaves neither widow nor orphans, this term's salary may be given 
to those who have incurred any expense lrom his illness or funeral. 

91 



The Frankfort System, 

modern education. As a result, they have intro- 
duced a reform, known as the Frankfort system, 
which has met with a good deal of favour. It has, 
indeed, spread to such an extent that it looks as 
if it might ultimately supplant the older system. 
It consists in having the same course of studies 
during the first three years in each of the three 
types of schools. Accordingly, a boy may attend 
one school up to the age of twelve, and then, if 
advisable, change to another, where the course of 
studies is better suited to his special tastes or 
ability. 

It is evident that, if classical and modern schools 
are to have a common basis of this kind, it is 
necessary for the classical schools to abandon the 
teaching of classical subjects — that is to say, 
Latin — in the lowest classes. And, doubtless, 
such a proposal must have appeared at first as 
little less than revolutionary to a number of 
German teachers. But their prejudices were not 
as difficult to overcome as would have been the 
case in a country where the science of education 
was not studied, or, at any rate, not held in great 
repute. For, in this question of the postponement 
of Latin, educational theory immediately came to 
the assistance of the demands of expediency. 

The great majority of those who have studied 
the science on which education depends for its 
proper performance, and particularly the followers 

92 



The Frankfort System. 

of Pestalozzi, are persuaded that a child should 
be introduced to the unknown through the known, 
that it should proceed from the near to the more 
remote. To persons who think thus, the old idea, 
that education is nothing but a course of discipline, 
which is best carried out by collecting and pre- 
senting to the child's mind all the difficulties to 
be found in the realm of knowledge, is little else 
than heresy. Not that they make the mistake 
of going to the other extreme, and believe that 
there should be no discipline in education, or 
that those on whom the child depends should 
remove all difficulties from its path ; every teacher 
knows that difficulties, besides offering discipline, 
possess a peculiar attraction for the pupil — Res 
severa verunt gaudium. But they do believe 
that education must conform to the natural laws 
of development, and that this development is a 
gradual strengthening of powers and functions of 
the mind, according to a systematic order of pro- 
gress. Consequently they maintain that it is as 
fatal to present to the child innumerable difficulties, 
which it is utterly beyond the natural strength of 
its mind to overcome, as it is to tax the endurance 
of its physical powers beyond the limits which 
nature has imposed on them. 

The law by which such persons are guided may, 
in its broadest and most general terms, be stated 
thus : what is easiest must come first, and what is 

93 



The Frankfort System. 

most difficult must come last. What it is easiest 
for children to understand is that which is nearest 
to them in their actual surroundings ; what it is 
most difficult for their intelligence to grasp is that 
which is furthest from them in the realms of 
abstract thought. To find the sequence of diffi- 
culties, which leads from one extreme to the other, 
is no light task ; but it is the duty of educators to 
find it ; and they will be helped in so doing by 
a knowledge of the natural order of development 
of the human faculties, and by a clear perception 
of the ultimate goal to be attained. But though 
Nature decides the development of the faculties, 
she does not alone determine this goal, as 
Rousseau thought, or rather wished to think ; it 
is determined much more by what is of man or 
human in the environment. 

Not only is language one of the most important 
links between the individual and what is human in 
the environment, but it is also the indispensable 
link between him and the thoughts of all ages, 
which have gone to build up and mould this 
environment. A knowledge of language, therefore, 
is the first essential element in the individual's 
stock of requirements. But the process by which 
he becomes possessed of them must conform to 
the law of the order of mental development ; he 
must proceed from the nearer to the more remote. 
And although, ideally speaking, his adjustment to 

94 



The Frankfort System. 

his environment will not be complete until he is 
capable of understanding all the languages in 
which the greatest thoughts have been expressed, 
he must first grapple with that which is nearest 
to him, his own mother tongue. Having mastered 
this — which, even if he learns no other, will afford 
him a means of communication with foreign litera- 
ture at second-hand — he will in the natural order 
of things proceed to the study of that language 
which comes next in the sequence of difficulties. 
If this sequence is to lead to Latin and Greek, the 
next step, for both the English and the German 
child, will be to commence the study of French. 
Thus did the science of education come to the aid 
of those Germans who were anxious that the three 
lowest forms of their three different types of schools 
should supply a common basis of instruction. 

It was in Frankfort that the reform was first 
carried into effect in its entirety. The practical 
results exceeded the expectations which had been 
derived from theoretical reasoning. The master 
of the famous Frankfort Gymnasium, who is him- 
self a distinguished classical scholar, has found 
that boys who, after three years' "intensive" study 
of French, commence the study of Latin at the 
age of twelve, will in a few years overtake and 
pass boys who have been learning Latin on the old 
traditional plan. And, at the same time, the former 
have acquired a conversational knowledge of 

95 



The Frankfort System. 



French, and a mastery of its grammatical diffi- 
culties, which can only be attained from daily 
contact with the language. 

It will be seen from the time-tables given below 
that in the Gymnasium Greek, and in the Real- 
gymnasium English, is not begun until two years 
after the commencement of Latin. It will also 
be noticed that a large number of hours are 
devoted to the study of these languages in the 
early stages ; so that at the commencement the pupil 
is brought into daily contact with the language. 

A. — Gymnasium.* 





VI. 


V. 


IV. 


IIIb. 


IIlA. 


IIb. 


IlA. 


Ib. 


Ia. 


Total. 


Compared 

with 
formerly. 


Religion . . . 

German anc 
Historical 
Narration . . 

History anc 
Geography . 

Arithmeiic 
and Mathe 

Natural His 

Physics 

Writing 

Drawing .... 


1 

1 
■ 


3 
5 

6 

2 

Geog. 

5 
2 

2 


3 

4 

6 

2 

Geog. 

5 
2 

2 
2 


2 

4 
6 

5 

2 
2 


2 

3 

IO 
2 

3 

4 

2 
2 


2 

3 

IO 
2 

3 

4 

2 

2 


2 

3 

S 

8 

2 
2 

3 

2 


2 

3 

8 
8 
2 

2 
4 

2 


2 

8 
8 
2 

2 

4 

2 


2 

3 

8 
8 
2 

3 

n 

2 
3i 


19 

31 

52 
32 
30 

24 

37 

10 

8 

4 
8 


± O 
+ IO 
-25 

- 8 
+ 9 

r ~ 4 

< See Ger- 
^ man. 

+ 3 

± 

± 
± 

+ 2 


Total 


25 


25 


26 


28 


28 


30 


3i .31 


255 


-13 



* Such subjects as Drilling, Gymnastics, and Singing do not appear 
in these tables, though they form part of the instruction provided. 

96 



The Frankfort System. 



B. — Real Gymnasium. 





VI. 


V. 


IV. 


III 2 . 


nil. 


II 2 . 


li. 


l 2 . 


ii. 


Total. 


Compared 

with 
formerly. 


Religion .... 

German and j 
Historical > 
Narration . . ) 

English 

History and! 

Geography . j 
Arithmetic I 

and Mathe-J 

Natural His-1 

Chemistry . . . 
Drawing .... 


3 
5 

6 

2 

Geog 

5 

2 

2 


2 
4 

6 

2 

Geog. 

5 

2 

2 
2 


2 
4 

6 
5 

2 
2 


2 

3 

8 
4 

3 

4 

2 

2 

28 


2 

3 

8 
4 

3 

4 
2 

2 


2 

3 

6 

3 
6 

3 
4 

3 
2 


2 

3 

6 

3 
4 

3 

5 

2 

2 

2 


2 

3 

6 
3 
4 

3 

5 

2 
2 

2 


2 

3 

6 
3 
4 

3 
5 

2 

2 

2 


19 

31 

40 

38 
18 

27 
42 
IO 

9 
6 

4 
16 


± O 

+ 4 

— 14 

+ 4 

— 2 

f ~ 3 

<See Ger- 
* man. 

— 2 

— 2 

_ 1 
J 

± O 
± O 

— 2 


Total 


25 


25 


26 


28 


32 


32 


32 


32 


260 


— 20 



In 1896, four members * of the British Technical 
Instruction Commission, which is alluded to more 
than once in these pages, paid a visit to Germany, 
on their own initiative, with a view to ascertaining 
the recent progress of technical education in that 
country. In their letter to the Duke of Devon- 
shire, relating the result of their inquiry, they bear 
the following striking testimony to the industrial 



* Sir Philip Magnus, Mr. Gilbert R. Redgrave, Mr. (now Sir) 
Swire Smith, and the late Mr. William Woodall, M.P. 

97 



Criticism of German Secondary Schools. 

and commercial benefits derived by Germany from 
her system of secondary education. They say : — 

" Our recent visit to Germany has also im- 
pressed us with a sense of the advantages which 
the nation derives from having an organized 
system of secondary education. To this matter 
reference was made in the Report of 1884, and we 
desire to emphasize it. The education of a 
secondary school is in every way more accessible 
in Germany than here. The grades and differ- 
ences of schools are better defined and more 
clearly understood ; the instruction is more dis- 
ciplinary, and exercises a deep influence in the 
formation of habits and in the training of character ; 
the teaching of modern languages is insisted upon 
to a far greater extent than in any of our own 
schools, with results of the greatest possible benefit 
to the German clerk and commercial agent ; the 
absence of frequent and conflicting external ex- 
amination gives more time for caretul study ; the 
remission of two years' military service to those 
who reach a certain standard in a secondary school 
is a powerful encouragement to steady application ; 
and the fees are much lower than in schools of 
corresponding grade in this country. These are 
advantages which count for much in enabling the 
German youth to obtain a good secondary educa- 
tion, and in fitting him for the subsequent period 
of apprenticeship in the counting-house, the mer- 
chant's office, or the factory. The German boy 
acquires at school a stock of knowledge which is 
at once useful to him, and he also acquires habits 
of accuracy, and learns the significance of attention 
to detail and the importance of discipline and 
obedience. Our consular reports are full of 
references to the differences between the methods 

98 



Selection of the Fittest — 

of training and aptitudes for commerce in Ger- 
many and in England, which in many ways are 
traceable to the fundamental differences in the 
secondary education of the two countries." 

We shall see later on that the national aim has 
not remained supreme and unchallenged in the 
French educational ideas of the last century. 
Social considerations have throughout this period 
played a large part in the organization of her 
national system. Having failed, for reasons which 
it will be attempted hereafter to explain, to build 
up a democracy of as advanced a type as that 
existing in the United States of America, she has 
been compelled to use education as a means for 
providing checks on inordinate social ambition. 
Germany has not in the past been turned aside by 
any such necessity from a single-minded pursuit 
of national prosperity. It is true that, to a great 
extent for wise economic reasons, she has, as far 
as possible, refused to admit to her secondary 
schools those who are not fitted by nature to 
profit from her secondary education. In the 
Prussian Code of 1794, for instance, we find the 
following passage : " Youths who do not possess 
sufficient aptitude for secondary studies must as 
soon as possible be prevented from pursuing them, 
and their parents should be warned to direct them 
betimes towards some other profitable career." 

In the same document it is, however, ordained 

I Loft. 99 



In German Secondary Schools. 

that every means should be adopted for encourag- 
ing and assisting those who show special ability 
to continue their studies. In 1 89 1, we find the 
same twofold advice repeated. It is difficult to 
imagine that there can, on any grounds, be an 
objection to such a system of severe selection 
of the fittest. Educationally it is as harmful to 
compel an individual to pursue his general studies 
beyond the limits prescribed by nature, as it is 
to force him to specialize while nature is still 
pursuing her process of general development. 
And unless all education is made free, as it is 
to a very great extent in the United States of 
America, and the fullest liberty is allowed to 
the individual to choose to what extent he will 
pursue his studies, it is essential that the State 
itself should undertake the work of selection. 
No intermediate course is theoretically sound, or 
could in practice prove economically successful. 

But we do not find in Germany a strong desire, 
based on social prejudices, to prevent children 
of the lower classes from enjoying a liberal 
education. Compared with other countries, it 
may be said that her one object is to promote 
national prosperity ; and to the achievement of 
this object her educational system is directed. 
There is indeed no European country which can 
be so profitably studied by those who desire to 
learn how far, and by what means, education can 

100 



German Technical Education. 

best be made to subserve national ends. Her 
technical education, for example, is the best she 
can devise for the promotion of her industrial 
interests. In organizing this branch of education 
she has, again, not allowed herself to be influenced 
by any considerations of class interests — considera- 
tions which possess an element of pettiness galling 
in the extreme to the sincere educator. 

Germany was the first country to bring a 
scientific and methodical spirit to bear on the. 
organization of technical education ; and she is 
to-day far ahead of any other country in Europe 
in the practical progress which she can show in 
her industrial development as a direct result of 
that system. It is in the higher branches of 
technical education that Germany excels other 
European countries. " We are led to believe/ 1 
said the Technical Instruction Commissioners, in 
the letter just referred to, "that much more is 
being done for the training of those destined for 
the higher ranks of industry in many parts of 
Germany than in England, and this, too, notwith- 
standing the large sums entrusted to county 
councils and borough authorities under the pro- 
visions of the Local Taxation (Customs and 
Excise) Act of 1890." And further on, showing 
the course which Germany has pursued, they 
say : — 

" It is worthy of remark that the same object 

101 



Rapid and Astounding Progress. 

which called into existence some forty or fifty 
years ago the technical high schools has recently 
led to their extension and development in a new 
direction. As far back as that period Germany 
began to prepare herself for becoming a manu- 
facturing people. It was her belief in the future 
applications of chemistry to industrial purposes 
that led to the erection and equipment at a great 
cost of chemical laboratories, and to the encourage- 
ment held out to students to pursue their studies 
in those laboratories for a period of five, six, or 
even seven years. The success that has attended 
the efforts of the Germans to appropriate many 
important branches of chemical manufacturing 
industry is well known, and the dependence of 
those industries on the researches of chemical 
experts employed in the works is generally 
recognized. At the Badische Anilin- und Soda 
Fabrik alone a hundred scientifically trained 
chemists and thirty engineers are now employed. 

" Her brilliant achievements in the field of 
chemical industries have encouraged her to es- 
tablish well-equipped electrical laboratories, and 
to develop the practical teaching of physics with 
the view of assisting the electrical trades, which 
are of comparatively recent growth. Twelve years 
ago the Commissioners had to report that the 
facilities for practical laboratory instruction in 
electrical technology scarcely existed, or were of 
the most meagre kind. At that time nowhere 
in Germany was to be found so well-equipped 
a laboratory for electrical engineers as at the 
Finsbury Technical College. Now there are no 
laboratories in England which can compare in 
the detail and completeness of their equipment 
with those we visited at Darmstadt and Stuttgart ; 
and no facilities for original and independent 

102 



The Bases of Technical Education. 

research in physical subjects to be compared 
with those afforded at the Imperial Physical 
Institute at Charlottenburg." 

Germany has devoted her greatest energies 
during recent years to the development of this 
technical education of university grade. Those 
Englishmen who were inclined to wonder that the 
State in Germany has not spent all the money at 
its disposal on the creation of technical schools of 
a lower grade — as it may be said, with very slight 
exaggeration, central and local authorities in 
England have done — should, in the first place, 
remember that Germany's elementary education is 
probably as superior to our own in quality as it 
is in extent, and that her secondary education is 
infinitely better organized and adapted to the 
requirements of modern life than our own. In 
the second place, they may ask themselves whether 
she is not right in considering that a technical 
education, which is based on a sound general 
secondary education, is at least as essential to the 
promotion of industry as that which is based on 
elementary education, and designed in obedience 
to a fatal affection for practical " short-cuts." 
We may, therefore, before considering what Ger- 
many has done for the technical education of 
those who do not pass through the secondary 
school, glance at her great technical schools. 

The first of these, the Collegium Carolinum, 

103 



Technical High Schools 

now the Technical High School of Brunswick, was 
founded in 1745, and is the oldest technical insti- 
tution in Germany. In successive chronological 
order follow : Freiberg (1765), Clausthal (1775), 
Karlsruhe (1825), Darmstadt (1826), Munich 
(1827), Dresden (1828), Stuttgart (1829), Hannover 
(183 1), Aachen (1865) ; Charlottenburg was created 
by the union of two existing establishments in 
1882. It is thus seen that Germany had arrived 
at an appreciation of the value of higher technical 
education before we had conceived of its existence. 
The Central Technical College of the City and 
Guilds of London Institute, the only institution in 
England which can in any way pretend to be on 
the same plane as the German High Schools, was 
not opened until 1884. 

It has been said that these institutions are of 
university grade. Indeed, many of them may be 
regarded as universities in the fullest sense of the 
term. They adopt, in many cases, university or- 
ganization, and that view of the benefits of general 
culture which in many countries is peculiar to the 
universities among higher educational institutions. 
On an earlier page the saying of the director of 
one of these schools as to the value of general 
culture and of a basis of "humanistic," as opposed 
to " real " studies, has been quoted with reference 
to the danger of isolating the technical student 
from the ideal interests of society. How far these 

104 



Technical High Schools. 

institutions have succeeded in rising to the level 
of the universities may be judged from one fact : 
in several of the States they share with the latter 
institutions the privilege of preparing for their 
professions teachers of mathematics and natural 
science in secondary schools. In connection with 
the Technical High School in Stuttgart, the four 
Commissioners referred to above say — 

" It is noteworthy that the instruction given in 
the Chemical Institute is exactly of the same kind 
as that given in the universities, and, although a 
special feature of the teaching and of the equip- 
ment is the prominence given to electrolysis and 
to electro-chemistry generally, no attempt is made 
in these new laboratories to teach chemistry in its 
application to special industries, that part of the 
instruction being provided for in the main Poly- 
technic building." 

Professor Paulsen, of the University of Berlin, 
in his brilliant history of the education which 
prepares in Germany for the learned professions, 
remarks, in reference to the higher scientific train- 
ing afforded by the Technical High Schools : — 
"There will again come a time when in this 
connection it will be asked : of what is a man 
capable ? rather than, at what school did he study ? 
The spirit of 'guild exclusiveness ' (Ziinftlerei), by 
which public instruction has been led astray, will 
not last for ever." 

As the Technical High Schools have drawn 

105 



Technical High Schools. 

nearer to the university standard, they have 
naturally demanded higher general attainments 
from the candidates presenting themselves for ad- 
mission to their courses of instruction. And now, 
with practically no exceptions, such candidates 
are obliged to produce the Certificate of Maturity 
of a Gymnasium, Realgymnasium, or Oberreal- 
schule (see p. 83). At the outset, however, almost 
all of these schools seem to have had somewhat 
the same aim as that which occupies the attention 
of the authorities founding technical schools in 
England to-day. Indeed, had not Germany per- 
ceived, as we do not yet seem to have perceived, 
the necessity for organizing and developing her 
secondary education, her Technical High Schools 
would never have been capable of the high 
achievements now demanded of them. The growth 
of these institutions may be shown by a brief 
account of the building up of the superb Royal 
Technical High School of Charlottenburg. 

This institution has been formed from the union 
of the Berlin Architectural Academy and the 
Industrial Academy. The School of Architecture 
was founded in 1799. The conditions of admission 
at the outset were : that the candidates should 
not be less than fourteen years old, and should 
have an- elementary knowledge of Latin and 
French, and some acquaintance with mathematics. 
The results of the teaching, however, were at first 

106 



Charlottenburg. 

disappointing, owing to the want of general culture 
displayed by the students; and in 1801 it was 
decreed that candidates for admission must have 
passed through the greater part of the course of 
instruction provided by the gymnasium. Gradually 
the curriculum was extended and raised in 
standard, and the conditions of admission were 
made more severe. In 1876, all candidates who 
purposed presenting themselves, at the close of 
their course of studies, for the examination ad- 
mitting to employment in the State service were 
obliged, on entering the school, to hold the Cer- 
tificate of Maturity of a Gymnasium or a Real- 
schule of the first grade (see p. 83). Certificates 
from schools of a lower grade were accepted from 
those who did not intend entering the service of 
the State. At this date the school was under the 
direction of the Minister of Commerce. 

The Industrial Academy, on the other hand, 
originated in a technical school founded in 1821, 
for the purpose " of providing young manufacturers 
and mechanics, not only with general culture and 
an insight into the things which it is necessary 
for every artisan to know, but also with as much 
preliminary knowledge as is requisite for the 
ordinary carrying on of a technical trade." The 
conditions of admission were much the same 
as those for the Architectural School, but the 
candidates had to be not less than twelve and not 

107 



Charlottenburg. 

more than sixteen years of age. The school 
opened with thirteen pupils and four teachers. 
In 1850 the limits of the age of admission were 
raised to seventeen and twenty-seven, and the 
certificate of a secondary school was demanded 
for admission. In 1866, by a royal decree the 
title was changed to that of Industrial Academy ; 
and in 1871, owing to the high standard to which 
it had then attained, it was recognized, by another 
royal decree, as a technical High School. At 
this date it also was under the control of the 
Minister of Commerce. 

In 1876 these two institutions resembled one 
another so closely, in their organization and their 
aims, that their union was considered advisable by 
the Government. In the technological branches the 
Architectural School taught only Architecture and 
Engineering in its application to structures, and 
the Industrial Academy only Mechanical Engineer- 
ing, Chemistry, and Metallurgy ; but in both 
schools the same teachers were in charge of similar 
courses of Mathematics and other subjects of general 
instruction indispensable as a basis for the techno- 
logical branches. If only on account of this common 
element, much was to be gained educationally and 
economically by uniting the two institutions in 
one building and under one direction. As the 
former then numbered 1085 students, and the 
latter 659, it was no small undertaking to provide 

108 



Charlottenburg. 

a building of adequate size, and at the same time 
containing all the necessary equipment for such 
a wide course of technical studies as would be 
demanded. As a preliminary step, the two 
institutions were formally united in 1879, under 
the title of Technical High School, and the new 
building was commenced about the same time. 

The British Royal Commissions on Technical 
Instruction stated, in its Report of 1884, that the 
Commissioners visited the new buildings in progress 
at Charlottenburg. The cost, they said, "is esti- 
mated at ^"450,000, and when it is remembered that 
the number of students has been for some years 
past on the decrease, having fallen from 1400 to 800, 
the object of this vast outlay is difficult to under- 
stand." The Prussians were not, however, making 
a mistake, as the Commissioners feared. The 
new school was opened in 1884 with 887 students ; 
during the next year the numbers rose to 1030, 
and have gone on increasing ever since, until, in 
1899, they reached the total of 3428. Being a 
technical High School, it is under the Minister of 
Public Instruction, and no longer controlled by 
the Minister of Commerce. 

The growth of the Charlottenburg School has 
been so rapid that it is difficult for English educa- 
tional literature to keep pace with it. For instance, 
the Manchester Technical School — to which, by 
the way, English educationists are under a heavy 

109 



Charlottenburg. 

debt for enlightenment on the doings of foreign 
countries and English needs — sent a deputation to 
the Continent in 1891, which visited this school. 
In its report, this deputation observed : — 

"The school is said to be arranged for the accom- 
modation of 2000 students. There are now 1 600, 
and this number appears to be in excess of the 
resources of the staff, as double courses of lectures 
are being given. The returns for the previous 
winter session, 1889-90, give 1457 as the total 
number of regular and occasional students, the 
former amounting to 1043.* Oi the total, 176 are 
foreigners, 10 of whom are Englishmen. The 
regular students are distributed as lollows : — 

Architecture 208 

Engineering applied to Structures 210 

Mechanical Engineering .... 358 

Shipbuilding 142 

Chemistry and Metallurgy 145 

The significance of these figures may be best 
understood by comparing them with the numbers 
in the respective departments of any English 
scientific institution of high rank." 

The report then proceeds to give a description 
of the building, which it describes as " of the most 
sumptuous character . . . and standing in a wood- 
land park." "It is," the report says, "750 feet 

* 1063, according to the figures in the following table ; the differ- 
ence might be satisfactorily explained in several ways. 

IIO 



Charlottenburg. 

long and 294 feet deep, and has three floors above 
the basement." * 

Some of the additions and improvements which 

* The following is an extract from the description of the school 
given in the report of this deputation : — 

" There is a Mechanical Workshop connected with the school. 
. . . Here models, apparatus, etc., are made for use in the Lecture 
Rooms, and work is done in maintenance of the collections. . . . 
The Library contains 52,000 volumes, and copies of 230 current 
technological journals. The issues to students are at the rate of 
1000 volumes per day. . . . The rooms are mostly 26 feet wide, and 
have behind them a corridor 1 1 feet 6 inches in width. A range of 
rooms runs along each front and the two ends. Other rooms run 
from front to back, across the intervening space of 75 feet, as well 
as two main staircases, thus dividing it into five courts. Four of 
these are open, but the centre one — 75 feet by 75 feet, with an 
arcade round it — is roofed in, and forms a handsome central hall 
for the display of large objects, busts, and statues. The chief 
entrance is wide and roomy. Its vaulted ceiling is carried by eight 
piers, and right and left of the entrance are model rooms. The 
administrative department is at the rear, on the first floor. There 
is also, on the first floor over the entrance, a fine ' Aula ' or Hall, 
for State occasions, the Award of Prizes, etc., which is 88 feet by 
56 feet. 

" A magnificent Library, 150 feet by 26 feet, and a Reading-room, 
beautifully fitted up, 87 feet by 26 feet, are on the second floor. There 
is, in the Library, a gallery formed of iron grids laid on girders, to 
give access to the upper ranges of books. The whole of the remain- 
ing rooms are disposed as class-rooms, lecture-rooms, professors' 
rooms, etc. 

" The Chemical Laboratories are carried on in a plain building 
of stone, separate from but near to the Technical High School, and 
under its general direction. 

"The building is 219 ft. by 199 ft., three storeys high, with a 
front and rear range of rooms, and three cross wings enclosing two 
courts. 

" There are five Inorganic Laboratories for 83 students ; three 
Organic for 63 students ; two Technical Laboratories ; besides 
several private Laboratories for the teachers." 

Ill 



Charlottenburg. 

have been made since their visit may now be 
mentioned. In 1891 the need for electrical in- 
struction had become so great that courses were 
established on " Telegraphy, with special relation 
to the direction of railways ; " courses on other 
branches of electrical technology were started 
in 1892 and 1897. In the latter year special 
classes were started on Shipbuilding. In 1897 
and 1898 the sum of ^"7500 was spent on the 
additional equipment of the Electro-Technical 
School necessitated by these new classes. At the 
same time a new Lecture Hall to seat 300, and 
a new Laboratory to accommodate 350, were built. 
In 1895 an Electro-Chemical Laboratory was 
built, at an expense of about ;£8ooo. In 1896 a 
Laboratory devoted to the purposes of Mechanical 
Engineering was erected at a cost of ^"8045. I n 
1898 the task was commenced of lighting the 
building by electricity, at an estimated cost of 
;£i 1,350. So great had become the number of 
students attending the Mechanical Engineering 
section, that it became necessary in 1898 to erect 
a provisional Lecture Hall, to seat 400 persons ; 
and in 1899 it was proposed to enlarge the whole 
building, at a cost of over ^50,000. The depart- 
ment of Naval Construction has received special 
attention, and now numbers 240 students ; ^"1500 
was spent on its improvement in 1899. ^ n l %97 
a large lecture room for Experimental Physics was 

112 






Charlottenburg. 

built, at a cost of ^"3200. In 1897 ;£noo was 
expended on the improvement of the Machine 
Testing Section. The sums here mentioned as 
having been actually spent amount to over 
^"40,000, which does not represent the total ex- 
penditure on the improvement of the Charlotten- 
burg School since the deputation visited it in 
1891. 

In the winter session of 1897-98 there were 
attached to the school 325 professors, lecturers, 
and assistants, and 55 private tutors, thus showing 
an increase of 239 in the first division and 25 in 
the second since the visit of the Manchester 
deputation. 

The balance-sheet of the school shows, in 1900, 
an income of £2 1,290, and an expenditure of 
£55,300. The difference is paid by the State. A 
student's fees amount roughly to £15 a year. 

If there is any connection between technical 
education and industrial prosperity, the progress 
which has been made by the Charlottenburg 
Technical High School during the last ten years — 
a progress with which other similar institutions in 
Germany have kept pace — must, indeed, strike dis- 
may into those who fear for the industry of England. 
During this period we can point to no similar pro- 
gress in any one institution. We have been content 
to spend our resources on that kind of technical 
education which does not demand preliminary 

113 



Conditions of Admission. 

training in the secondary school. But the one 
thing that is necessary to obtain admission to the 
German Technical High School is the certificate 
of maturity of a Gymnasium, Realgymnasium or 
Oberrealschule, that is to say, evidence of having 
passed through a nine years' course of secondary 
education, and of having, in the opinion of the 
appointed authorities, duly profited therefrom. It 
is only on such a basis as this that it is possible to 
acquire that higher scientific training which Ger- 
many believes to be essential for the development 
of her manufacturing industries. It is needless to 
say that we cannot succeed in providing such 
training until we have provided the basis. In 
this matter, at any rate, whatever explanation may 
be offered for the differences between the English 
and German branches of education, we are nearly 
fifty years behind Germany ; or, in other words, if 
we follow at the present rate that line of develop- 
ment which we have adopted, in about fifty years 
from hence we shall have higher technical schools, 
as advanced as are to-day those which Germany 
possesses. To what standard the German schools 
will have then attained no one dare venture to 
prophesy. But, of course, this calculation alto- 
gether ignores the fact that it may be impossible 
for us to maintain our industry — one of the 
greatest sources of our wealth — against foreign 
competition, if we lag behind in our education for 

114 



Statistics of Technical High Schools. 

that length of time. It would therefore appear 
that there is very urgent need of our adopting the 
plan which was proposed by Matthew Arnold 
many years ago, and of our providing the basis 
for higher technical education by organizing our 
secondary education. 

The following table gives some details as to the 
other Technical High Schools of Germany : — 



Town and County. 


Date of 
Founda- 
tion. 


Number of 
Students in 

1896. 


Expendi- 
tures. 




1865 
1799 
183I 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1825 
1826 
1745 


363 
2,693 
I,IOI 

1,757 

905 
910 
996 
1,178 
399 


£l2,509 

61,559 
21,676 
24,410 
23,046 

17,574 
21,420 
21,991 
10,418 












Darmstadt, Hesse-Darmstadt. 
Brunswick, Brunswick 



That the State has been able to bring, through 
the Technical High Schools, the highest scientific 
knowledge and training to bear, with such mar- 
vellous and startling results, upon the promotion 
of national industry, is due mainly to its careful 
selection of the fittest, or rather rejection of the 
unfit, in the secondary and other stages. It is 
hardly necessary to point out that the selection of 
the fittest in the different stages of education would 
be impossible, if the whole system were not under 
9 115 



Technical Education and Instruction. 

the control of an enlightened Ministry of Education 
— enlightened in the sense that it is not composed 
of men possessing clerical ability alone, nor even 
of those who owe their appointment merely to a 
brilliant academic career, but of men who have 
distinguished themselves in the teaching profession 

itself. 

Owing to this process of selection, there is 
evidently a large number of individuals who leave 
the State system at the elementary stage ; that is 
to say, at the age of fourteen, when they have 
reached the limit of compulsory education. And 
it must not be imagined that, because Germany has 
perceived the value of the highest kind of technical 
education — with a foresight of which neither 
England nor France seem to be possessed — she 
has on that account neglected to provide instruction 
for those who are to be the privates and non- 
commissioned officers in her industrial army. It 
is true that, with her deep appreciation of the 
scientific principles underlying education, she has 
drawn a sharp distinction between education, in 
the fullest meaning of the term, and instruction. 

Education, as we have seen, is concerned with 
the period of adjustment or dependence. As the 
lower animals develop more rapidly than man, and 
consequently reach the stage of complete adjust- 
ment at an earlier age, so among men, those who 
possess a lower order of intelligence develop more 

116 



Technical Instruction. 

rapidly mentally, within their own narrower circle, 
than those who belong to a higher order. Conse- 
quently the stage of complete adjustment to, and 
therefore of self-dependence in, their more restricted 
environment is attained by such people at an 
earlier age. For them, accordingly, education * is 
no longer necessary, or indeed possible. They 
may, however, naturally benefit from further 
courses of instruction. 

Making allowance for the failings common to 
all human government, Germany has adapted her 
educational system to the above conditions, cer- 
tainly more wisely and consistently than any other 
nation. Honestly endeavouring in the interests 
of the nation to make the most, irrespective of 
class distinctions, of the intellectual forces of her 
people, she has spared no expense to provide an 
education unequalled in any country in its adapta- 
tion to the intellectual development of her children. 
And she has done this although, or perhaps it 
would be more true to say because, she is poor 
compared with her foreign rivals. Outside her 
State system of education, and apart from it, she 
has provided — generally through the Ministry of 
Commerce and Industry and local initiative, rather 

* It is hardly necessary to say that throughout the whole of this 
work the term education is used, except when otherwise stated, in 
its narrower sense, as referring to that part of education which can 
be provided by the school. 

11/ 



Continuation Schools. 

than through the Ministry of Education and the 
Central Government — courses of supplementary- 
instruction for those who have attained to self- 
dependence at an earlier age than their more 
highly endowed countrymen. 

An Imperial Law, affecting all parts of Ger- 
many, forbids the employment of children under 
seventeen in factories and workshops. Hence 
arose a need for continuation schools, in which 
children leaving the elementary school at the age 
of fourteen might not only be prevented from 
forgetting what they had already learnt, but might 
be taught how best to use the knowledge they 
had acquired for the purposes of practical life. 
The Imperial Law on the " Regulation of In- 
dustry " of 1 891 decreed that the masters in any 
branch of industry were bound to allow their 
workers under the age of eighteen to attend an 
officially recognized continuation school (tech- 
nical or non-technical), for the time fixed as 
necessary 'by the authorities. Further, by the same 
law, it was ordained that the Local Council might 
make such attendance at a continuation school 
obligatory, for all male workers under the age of 
eighteen. There is consequently a great variety 
of educational effort in this direction in dif- 
ferent parts of Germany. In the case of the 
kingdom of Saxony, the State has made attend- 
ance at the continuation schools compulsory, and 

118 



Continuation Schools. 

several other States have followed the example 
of Saxony. 

The Saxon system is, in this section, perhaps 
the most efficient and the best organized. Here 
there are two kinds of continuation schools, those 
providing technical instruction, and those which 
offer a continuation of general education — a 
general course in which the practice of any trade 
or profession is not taught* In the first volume 
of the English Education Department's " Special 
Reports on Educational Subjects," Mr. F. H. Dale 
has given an admirable description of the con- 
tinuation schools of Saxony. His report does not 
seem to have received the attention which both 
the subject and his treatment of it deserve. The 
following account of these schools is based mainly 
on the information provided by Mr. Dale. 

The Saxon authorities believe that compulsory 
attendance is essential in the case of these con- 
tinuation schools. " Boys of the poorer classes 
cannot be expected," says one of the leading 
German authorities on this question, " at the age 
of fourteen, when just free from the elementary 
school, to see by their own unaided intelligence, 
the advantages of continuing or reviving their 
knowledge." And, adds Mr. Dale, " the growth 

* And in this connection it must be remembered that the provision 
for secondary education is not as great, in proportion to the popula- 
tion, in Saxony as in Prussia. 

II 9 



Compulsory Attendance. 

of trade, the improvements in the manufactures 
on the one hand, the importance of the mass of 
the people in the Government on the other, both 
demand an increased intelligence and a wider 
knowledge ; and such knowledge can no longer 
be confined to a few ; it must be made universal, 
as universal as work and the right of voting ; and 
continuation schools can alone supply this defect, 
otherwise irremediable." 

There are many reasons why the same difficulty 
is not experienced in a German State as would 
be encountered in England, in making attendance 
at these schools compulsory. Where the necessity 
of discipline, more particularly on behalf of 
the military defence of the Fatherland, has been 
admitted by all classes of the people, and where the 
State has shown itself competent to provide this 
discipline in such a way as has led to a great 
increase of national prosperity, it is natural that 
the people should be willing to surrender for a 
period their right to independent action, in favour 
of new disciplinary measures instituted by the 
State. But here again we are brought face to 
face with the fundamental reason for Germany's 
success in building up a national system of 
education. External opposition has taught her 
to place love of country before that desire for 
individual liberty, based on what must be called 
love of self. 

120 



Hours of Attendance. 

These continuation schools come under the con- 
trol of the local or district council, and therefore 
adapt themselves, as it is necessary that they 
should, to local needs, which may be either agri- 
cultural, commercial, or industrial. The schools 
in the country districts, which do not directly 
affect the question with which we are dealing in 
these pages, are generally open for half the year 
only ; the summer being a busy time for all 
engaged in practical occupations. In about two- 
thirds of all the schools, however, instruction is 
given throughout the whole year ; the minimum 
number of hours which they must devote to in- 
struction is fixed by law at two per week ; but it 
may be raised to as much as six. As showing 
that factors enter into foreign education which are 
strange to English people, it is interesting to 
notice that either the evening of a week-day or 
Sunday may be used for instruction in the con- 
tinuation schools. As a matter of fact, nearly 
half the schools in Saxony use the Sunday, though 
they may not employ hours which would interfere 
with the attendance of the pupils at Divine service. 
But, with regard to the hours of instruction, 
the greatest consideration is shown to the require- 
ments of the different trades. Mr. Dale tells us 
that at Zittau, for instance, "the scholars are for 
the most part first divided into classes according 
to their trades, and then, by agreement with the 

121 



Subjects of Instruction. 

employers, a convenient time is fixed, different in 
each case, e.g. locksmiths attend on Monday, from 
one to four ; those employed in hardware business, 
on Tuesday, from one to four ; butchers on Tues- 
day, from two to five, etc." A number of these 
schools charge a fee varying from one to six 
shillings a year. 

As to the nature of the instruction given in 
these schools, the Saxon Ministry states in its 
syllabus that "the instruction in the continuation 
schools should fix and widen the knowledge won 
in the primary school ; it should enable the scholar 
to perceive the direct relation of this knowledge to 
\his daily life, and teach him to apply it in his 
calling as a workman." 

It is owing in a very large measure to com- 
pulsory attendance, that this aim can be achieved ; 
for experience has taught us in England that 
the majority of boys do not awaken to an appre- 
ciation of the benefits of the continuation school 
until they have reached the age of twenty, when 
they have forgotten most, if not all, of what they 
learnt in the primary school seven or eight years 
earlier. In Saxony, however, the continuation 
school, in the full significance of the term, is a 
reality, and does not only exist in codes and 
blue-books. The district council is allowed to 
select the subjects of instruction, and there is 
now no code enforcing uniformity. At Leipzig, 

122 



Subjects of Instruction. 

indeed, employers of pupils are invited to sit 
on the school committee, and help the teachers 
with their advice. In every case, the instruction 
is adapted to the special requirements of the 
district. We have, in short, in these schools a 
happy compromise between the utilitarian, or 
"practical," and the educational idea. For in- 
stance, the Saxon code points out the lamentable 
want on the part of masters and foremen, who 
have money under their charge, of business habits 
and training. To correct this, the teaching of 
arithmetic, for instance, in Leipzig, is carried out 
with a view to the future practical needs of the 
pupils ; the examples taken always treat of sums 
of money and the currencies which may be reason- 
ably supposed to be common in the trade. To 
quote again from Mr. Dale's paper : " I heard," 
he says, ". . . a teacher explain to the boys the 
method in which they might learn from the news- 
paper what was the current rate of interest for 
money, and the use of banks as the best loan 
offices. Nobody, I think, could question the value 
of this information to boys who might some day 
be small tradesmen, or doubt how often the lack 
of such knowledge has offered facilities for extor- 
tionate usury." 

The syllabus may also be quoted of the lessons 
on the general nature of the carpenter's trade 
planned for one of the classes at Leipzig. 

123 



Specimen Syllabus. 

First Year. — Easter to Whitsuntide. 

{a) Kinds of timber used in carpentering ; the 
parts of a tree-trunk. A short description of a 
tree (yearly rings, the bark, etc.). 

(b) The physical and technical qualities of timber 
(its external form, specific weight, hardness, tex- 
ture, smell, colour, etc.), illustrated by timber used 
in Germany. 

Whitsuntide to the Summer Holidays. 

(c) The various kinds of flaws in timber : now 
distinguished. 

(d) The insects injurious to timber. 

Summer Holidays to Michaelmas. 

(e) Description of the most important kinds of 
timber used for carpentering purposes (the larch, 
cypress, cedar, etc.). With the description of each 
its price was given ; the countries, mountains, etc., 
chiefly noted for its growth, and the most im- 
portant towns which employed it in manufacture, 
were mentioned. 

(f) The instruments employed to bind together 
parts of the timber (clamps, nails, etc.), and their 
prices. 

(g) The materials useful for beautifying the 
surface of timber (oil, cement, etc.), and their 
prices. 

Michaelmas to Christmas. 

(Ji) The principal tools and machines employed 
in woodwork, how long they should last, and their 
price ; the strength necessary for working them ; 
the space they occupy, etc. 

124 



Specimen Syllabus. 

This lesson was accompanied by a visit to the 
Exhibition of Industrial Appliances and Products 
(Gewerbe Ausstellung). 

Christmas to Easter. 

(i) Erection of a workroom for five men (space 
required, ventilation, lighting, division of the tools, 
machines, etc.). 

(k) A few points from the history of the growth 
of the trade. The system of apprenticeship, and 
of guilds. The movement for the freedom of the 
workers. The most important regulations from 
the laws as they exist at present on the position 
of the workmen. 

Second Year. 

For this year no detailed programme is given : 

" It was devoted," says the syllabus, " to the more 
special points concerning the trade ; especially to 
questions involved in the starting of a business for 
one's self. In this connexion were mentioned the 
need for raw material (its mass, weight, price, 
according to the magnitude of orders to be ex- 
ecuted), the time necessary under various imagined 
conditions, the number of assistants to be em- 
ployed, the customary wages, the fixed and circu- 
lating capital required, etc," 

It must be repeated that the instruction in 
these schools is in no way technical in the common 
acceptance of the term. There is no practical 
work done by the pupils. The aim of the in- 
struction is, again to quote Mr. Dale, " to give 
the boys information on points likely to be 

125 



Statistics of Continuation Schools. 






exceedingly useful to them, especially in the 
case of a wish to start in business themselves ; 
and these details, e.g. the relations of master and 
employe, the cost of a workroom, its proper 
fittings to correspond with a certain amount of 
capital, etc., would hardly, if at all, be touched 
upon in a school where the cultivation of manual 
skill is bound to be the chief object." How far 
instruction of this nature is considered more useful 
than practical instruction for this special class of 
pupils may be shown from the fact that in 1895-6 
Saxe- Weimar had 452 continuation schools of the 
general type, with 5152 scholars, but only 26 
technical schools with about 2000 students. The 
following table * shows the proportion of the 
population passing through the continuation school 
in some of the German States : — 

Number of Pupils in Continuation Schools to every 
1000 Inhabitants. 



Wiirtemberg 

Baden 

Hesse-Darmstadt 

Saxony 

Waldeck .' 

Coburg-Gotha 

Saxe- Weimar 

Saxe-Meiningen 

Schwarzburg - Sondershau- 

sen 

City of Lubeck 

Mecklenburg- Streliiz . . . . 



50 

351 
345 

22± 
22\ 
22 
21 



20 
18 

143 



City of Bremen 

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt . 

City of Hamburg 

Brunswick 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin . . . 

Prussia 

Saxe-Altenburg 

Lippe 

Anhalt 

Oldenburg 

Schaumburg- Lippe 



8' 

1\ 

7 

7 

6§ 

6 

5s 

5\ 

3l 



* Based on statistics given in the " Report of the American 
Commissioner of Education for the year 1898-99." 

126 



Technical Instruction. 

We now come to that section of technical and 
commercial instruction which in England may be 
said to be regarded as more important than the 
highest technical education. This, at any rate, is a 
fair inference from the fact that it is the only section 
to which we have devoted any special attention, 
and that to which almost the whole of the public 
moneys devoted to technical education are applied. 
The chief thing that Germany has to teach us in this 
branch is that she does not consider it of as great 
importance as the highest scientific education such 
as we have seen is given at Charlottenburg. 

The Gewerbe Schulen are found only in the 
large industrial centres. They are chiefly schools 
of design, having both a day and evening depart- 
ment, in which drawing and mathematics occupy 
three-fifths of the time-table. Most of the students 
are apprentices, so that, though the schools have 
no workshops, it continually happens that a master 
workman encourages his apprentice to make 
models in the shop applying the principles or 
ideas which he has learnt or developed at the 
school. Side by side with these institutions are 
to be found trade schools, in which trades and 
industries are actually taught. A higher class 
of this type of school is seen at its best in the 
magnificent textile school of Crefeld, for an 
excellent account of which we are again indebted 
to Manchester educationists. This institution 

127 



Crefeld. 

possesses an evening and Sunday department, as 
well as a day school, most of the students in 
which have passed through the modern secondary 
school. In this instance, as in many others, 
Germany may be said to beat us on our own 
ground. Indeed, so complete a training is here 
given in every branch of weaving, dyeing, and 
finishing, that not a few Englishmen who have 
visited this school, and go no further, are under 
the impression that it provides the highest kind of 
technical education to be found in Germany. 

The fees for day students vary from £6 to 
£g in a session. It is a significant fact that 
a large proportion of the pupils attending these 
trade schools have passed through the Ober- 
realschule or highest grade of modern secondary 
school. The Manchester Committee relate one 
fact in connection with the Crefeld school which 
should be brought to the attention of those who 
would leave everything to local initiative and are 
opposed to any form of central control. In its 
report the Committee says : — 

" It is interesting to note with what discrimina- 
tion and judgment the educational authorities of 
Prussia pursue their objects. The authorities at 
Crefeld were anxious to see the establishment, 
as a development of their school, of a department 
for cotton spinning ; but the Royal authority 
declined to give effect to the representations made, 
and expressed their determination to build and 

128 



Crefeld. 

equip such a school in the centre of the cotton 
industry at Gladbach (also in Rhenish Prussia). 
There are no less than thirteen schools in Prussia 
devoted to textile training, each with its own 
peculiar conditions. This enables a certain elas- 
ticity and variety of methods to be established 
and tried, and the evils of undue educational 
competition and rivalry, which are to be found 
in England, and which go so far to prevent the 
establishment of really efficient institutions attended 
by competent students, are obviated." 

This section of German technical education has 
occupied so much attention in England that there 
is no excuse for dealing with it here at any length. 
Mr. James Baker has lately published, under the 
auspices of the Board of Education, an interest- 
ing account of the impression created by these 
schools on an Englishman who is neither an 
industrial nor an educational expert — and to 
whom, therefore, certain points of organization and 
aim may not be apparent — but who is not inflicted 
with that kind of patriotism which closes the eyes 
to the dangers threatened to England by the 
rivalry of Germany. The following table * will 
give some idea of the extent of the continuation 
school system in all its branches : — 

* IJased on statistics given in the "Report of the Ameri:an 
Commissioner of Education for the year 1898-99." 



- 



129 



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130 



Commercial Education. 

It will be seen that a considerable number of 
schools in the above table offer commercial in- 
struction. From what has been said above, as to 
the nature of the continuation school, it may be 
inferred that the commercial instruction provided 
is not of a very technical kind. Speaking of these 
commercial schools at the Congress on commercial 
education held at Antwerp, in 1898, Dr. Stegeman, 
who has done much for the promotion of commer- 
cial education in Germany, remarked — 

"Their aim is to give to future business men, 
while they are undergoing their apprenticeship, 
a certain amount of theoretical knowledge as 
a complement to their office work. This is not 
their sole aim, however ; their chief function 
being to perfect the knowledge which has been 
gained in the elementary school. It is said in 
Germany that a young business man, whose ele- 
mentary information is imperfect, who cannot 
write or speak his mother-tongue correctly, who 
cannot calculate rapidly and accurately, who does 
not write a good and legible hand, and who has 
not some general notion of the nature of the earth's 
surface, is not fit to be in business." 

There has recently been a certain agitation in 
Germany for the provision of a more specialized 
type of continuation school, and various com- 
mercial societies seem to favour their pro- 
motion. But for the training of business men 

Germany still depends, and, as far as it is safe to 
10 I3I 



Commercial Education. 

prophesy, will for a long time to come continue to 
depend on her Realschulen. Mr. Michael E. 
Sadler, in his report on higher commercial educa- 
tion,* remarks in this connection that his inquiries 
have convinced him that the world has only begun 
to taste the effects of the first-rate non- classical 
secondary education now given all over industrial 
Germany. He adds — 

"The commercial advance of the German 
Empire, so striking to any visitor to that country, 
is due to a combination of causes. But one of 
these causes is the extreme intellectual efficiency 
of the secondary schools and of the higher 
technical institutes. The Germans do not mix 
up these two grades of educational work. The 
secondary school is organized as the foundation, 
the higher technical institute as the crown. It is 
to the non-technical secondary schools and to the 
highly specialized technical institutes, far more 
than to the elementary schools or evening con- 
tinuation schools, that those should look who 
desire to trace the educational causes of the com- 
mercial progress of the German Empire. 

"German non-classical secondary education pre- 
pares a boy to excel in commercial life, but it is 
not commercial education in any narrow sense. 
Indeed, the German secondary school authorities 
rigidly abstain on principle from any attempt at 
premature specialization in commercial subjects." 

* "Special Reports on Educational Subjects," vol. 3, pp. 554- 
626. This report, if widely read, would finally dispel the many 
errors which have arisen in England concerning the question of 
commercial education. 

132 



Germany and Premature Specialization. 

So much has already been said as to the German 
appreciation of the scientific principles on which 
education is based, that it is hardly necessary 
to remark that the theories put forward by some 
of the English advocates of commercial edu- 
cation do not find favour in that more en- 
lightened land. Least of all does Germany show 
any sympathy with that desire, too prevalent in 
some quarters, to build up a secondary system of 
commercial education which will turn clever boys 
into cheap clerks. A country which has looked 
far ahead, and seen the ever-increasing intensity 
of international competition, will have learnt that 
it must strain every nerve to prepare for future 
struggles. It will see clearly that it cannot afford 
to pander to the selfishness of individuals, but 
that it must have a single eye to the interests of 
the whole nation. Ultimate victory does not 
await the country which possess only one or two 
exceptionally brilliant men ; it will be slowly and 
painfully won by that nation which can command 
the greatest collective force. The fate of a people 
therefore — whatever be its form of government — 
depends upon the extent to which it cultivates the 
powers of each individual unit, and on the degree 
in which it is capable of combining and directing 
the individual forces, with economy and with fore- 
sight, towards the aim of national prosperity. And 
where it is recognized that each individual must be 

133 



No Encroachment of Commercial 

developed to the highest possible realization of his 
capacities, we may be sure that the schools will 
not fail to adopt those methods of education which 
are sanctioned by scientific laws. 

In such a country there will be no need to 
catch the soaring ambition and divert it from the 
pursuit of social attractions — unless it be that, 
as in France, social ambitions have dimmed the 
national purpose ; there will be no desire to stunt 
the natural development of the clever lad in order 
that he may become a " ready reckoner " of un- 
failing accuracy, or a commercial machine of 
unerring precision — unless it be in a country 
where economic freedom has produced a too rapid 
accumulation of wealth and has supplanted the 
old ideals of humanity, the ideals which enforced 
the obligations of the strong to the weak, though 
they made but little account of individual liberty 
fenced round with hereditary rights or fortuitous 
privileges. 

While, therefore, providing the best kind of 
modern secondary education that can be devised 
for aiding the adjustment of the individual to his 
future environment, Germany has not allowed 
" commercial education " to encroach on the sphere 
of secondary education. That is to say, she has 
refused to listen to those who may have said : 
" Here is a secondary school supplying a distinct 
demand and attracting a certain number of boys. 

134 



on Secondary Education. 

Let us increase its popularity by altering the 
course of studies in one of its sections, so as to 
teach boys things which will be of practical and 
immediate use to them when they enter business 
life. All subjects are of equal educational value 
if properly taught, therefore, surely it is better 
to teach those which are useful." If such argu- 
ments have been used in Germany they have 
found no response in educational circles. For 
Germany has not placed her headmasters under 
the temptation of increasing the number of their 
pupils by the addition of garish attractions to 
their curricula ; a temptation which has often been 
offered in England by making the headmaster's 
salary largely dependent on capitation fees. But, 
on the other hand, approaching all educational 
problems in a methodical spirit and with a full 
appreciation of at least the axioms of educational 
science, her experts, whose opinion is supreme on 
educational reform, have provided a secondary 
education admirably suited to train a boy for 
the future surroundings of business life. But this 
education does not fail to cultivate those special 
qualities which are essential to the proper per- 
formance of a citizen's duties. In short, there is 
probably no country which has produced a school 
so admirably fitted for this purpose as the Real- 
schule described above. 

This type of school is as different from the 

135 



Methods of Instruction. 

commercial branch, which has been added to some 
of our secondary schools, as it is from the school of 
science, which has been created out of the modern 
side of others of our secondary schools, on the plea 
of providing a proper preparation for industrial 
life. But while it is undoubtedly untrue that the 
educative value of a subject depends entirely upon 
the way it is taught, or that all subjects are in- 
trinsically of equal educative worth, it is equally 
false to assert that methods of instruction do not 
play an exceedingly important, perhaps the most 
important, part in the work of education. As has 
been already pointed out, the work of the educator 
is to guide the child during the process of his 
adjustment to his surroundings. He guides this 
adjustment to a very great extent by means of 
instruction ; and, therefore, instruction must con- 
form to the laws controlling the natural course 
of development. This is evidently as essential in 
intellectual as in physical matters, though the 
baneful effects of premature specialization in 
physical training are more apparent to the super- 
ficial observer than in the case of intellectual 
training. It is consequently evident that methods 
of instruction, and particularly the manner in 
which new knowledge is arranged and graduated 
and presented to the pupil, are of the utmost im* 
portance, not only in consideration of his general 
education, but also — in a minor degree which will 

136 



Training of Teachers. 

appeal strongly to those who place practical 
requirements before scientific laws — with regard 
to his proper assimilation of this knowledge ; or, 
in other words, with regard to his so acquiring it 
that "he makes it his own," and can use it for 
practical purposes. It cannot be too strongly 
emphasized that methods must conform to the 
natural laws of development ; and the intellectual 
" short cuts," invented by charlatans, are as much 
to be feared as the nostrums with which they 
endeavour to accelerate natural processes in the 
physical realm. 

A strange fact, which explains many things, 
may here be noticed. While we still believe that 
the best way for an educator, who is employed 
in anything higher than an elementary school, 
to learn to educate is to practise for a year or 
two unaided, uncontrolled, and often without even 
supervision, on the souls and minds and bodies of 
children, Germany has for nearly a hundred years 
insisted that he should pass through a course of 
thorough preparatory training. In the case of 
teachers in secondary schools, the State has deter- 
mined what evidence they shall give of their 
qualifications before entering their profession. In 
Prussia, for instance, no one is recognized as a 
fully qualified secondary teacher until he has 
passed through the course of training prescribed 
by the State. He is not admitted to this course 

137 



Training of Teachers. 

unless, after having studied for three years at a 
university, he passes an examination conducted by 
a commission appointed by the State. In this ex- 
amination he must prove that he possesses those 
attainments in scholarship without which he would 
not be qualified to teach the subjects which he 
has selected. But in addition to satisfactory at- 
tainments in scholarship, he has to satisfy the 
examiners that he also possess general culture, 
which is essential to every educator, together with 
a certain preliminary knowledge of the science of 
education. It is stated in the syllabus for this 
examination that the candidate must (r) give 
evidence of a knowledge of the general prin- 
ciples of philosophy (ethics and psychology) and 
of pedagogy ; (2) that he must show that he pos- 
sesses that command of his mother-tongue, and 
familiarity with his national literature and history, 
without which no one can claim to be a man of 
sufficient culture to hold the position of master in 
a secondary school ; (3) that he must satisfy the 
examiners that he has given serious reflection to 
the principles of the religious teaching of the 
church to which he belongs. Though three years' 
study at the university is insisted on, the taking 
of a degree is not essential for admission to the 
profession. Indeed, one occasionally meets head- 
masters enjoying no small reputation, who cannot 
boast of a university degree. 

138 



Training of Teachers. 

The passing of the State examination constitutes 
a young man an officially recognized candidate 
for the teaching profession. It is important to 
notice that in Germany, as in France, all 
such examinations consist of an oral as well as 
a written part. The candidate has, since 1890, 
been compelled to devote two years to his pro- 
fessional training. The first is what is called the 
seminary year, and the second the year of pro- 
bation. During the first of these years, the candi- 
dates are placed in charge of the directors of 
specially selected secondary schools, from four 
to six candidates to each director. Here they 
generally spend the first part of the year in attend- 
ing lessons, at which they take notes, meeting 
afterwards to discuss and criticize them with the 
teachers. In the latter part of the year, they 
teach under guidance and supervision. Besides 
this, they take an active part in the general life of 
the school, and learn all that can be learnt in such 
a way about school organization and curricula. 
They also pay visits to the neighbouring elemen- 
tary schools and training colleges for primary 
teachers. 

While the first year is thus given to the theo- 
retical side of training, during the second year the 
candidate begins to put what he has learnt into 
practice. As a probationer, he now is attached to 
the school staff. For the first quarter of the year 

139 



Training of Teachers. 

he teaches under constant supervision, and even 
after that the director, or an officially authorized 
master, must be present at his lessons at least twice 
a month. Towards the end of this year, he draws 
up a report on his own teaching ability and the 
progress which he thinks he has made ; this, 
together with the report of the director, is sub- 
mitted to the local authority (the Provincial Board 
of Inspectors), which decides as to the candidate's 
competence as a teacher, and consequently his 
fitness to enter the profession definitely. 

Though these regulations may appear somewhat 
stringent, they are in practice carried out in such 
a way as to allow the greatest freedom possible 
to those who are in charge of the candidate's 
training. The points to be noticed are, that in 
Prussia a young man is not allowed to enter the 
teaching profession without serious preparation, 
that he is not allowed to try his prentice hand on 
the pupils without supervision, and that he is not 
even admitted to the preparation for the profession 
until he has devoted some time to the study of 
the sciences underlying the theory of education. 
It is thus that Germany ensures the employment 
of the best methods of instruction in her secondary 
schools. She has at least discovered that efficiency 
of teaching, that is to say, the efficiency of the 
teachers, is the first thing necessary for the success 
of any system of schools. When we take it into 

140 



Modern Language Teaching. 

account that teachers so qualified are employed 
in the Realschulen, we cannot be surprised that 
these schools achieve wonderfully good results. 

Of the actual knowledge possessed by the boys 
who have passed through these schools, that which 
strikes an Englishman most forcibly is connected 
with modern languages. To the teaching of no 
subjects has Germany devoted greater attention 
during the last fifteen or twenty years. In Eng- 
land, also, the question of modern language teach- 
ing has excited recently a good deal of attention. 
But while we have devoted our energies to trying 
new plans, which anybody may have been kind 
enough to suggest, for learning languages in an 
impossibly short space of time, the Germans have 
brought the expert knowledge, based on scientific 
thought, of the secondary teacher to bear on the 
solution of the problem how best to teach modern 
languages. The German experts are not agreed, 
as Lord Salisbury would tell us experts never are ; 
but their disagreement has resulted from the rivalry 
of excellent solutions, none of which can claim to 
be the only true and right one. The practical con- 
sequence has been, however, to give an extraordinary 
stimulus to modern language teaching throughout 
the whole land. Every business man in England 
knows what a mastery Germans have of their own 
and often of other foreign tongues ; but there 
are few who know that the Germans speaking 

141 



Modern Language Teaching. 

with authority on this subject admit that this 
mastery is not due to any natural aptitude peculiar 
to the German people. It is, in their opinion, to 
be traced entirely to the methods of instruction 
employed in the schools. In fact, those Germans 
who have carefully studied the question, state that 
an English boy taught by the same methods 
arrives at equally good results. 

Perhaps in connection with the teaching of 
modern languages in Germany, I may be allowed 
to quote one instance, which came under my own 
observation, of the wonderful results obtained by 
a scientific method. In August, 1897, I visited a 
school which had adopted the Frankfort reformed 
curriculum (see p. 97) ; the lower second class, 
in which the average age of the boys was about 
fourteen, had begun English the preceding Easter, 
and were receiving a lesson a day in this subject. 
They had just returned from their summer holi- 
days, but I found that they had forgotten little of 
what had been taught them in the preceding term, 
and had already a very remarkable knowledge 
of the elements of English. In the following 
January I visited this school again. The boys of 
the class referred to had made extraordinary 
progress. I spoke to them in English for half 
an hour, chiefly in connection with the subject 
of their lesson, and found little difficulty in 
making myself understood by the great majority 

142 



Modern Language Teachers. 

of the class, and obtaining intelligent replies in 
English. This is not the place to discuss in 
detail the method which was employed in this 
school ; but it is certain that such results could 
not be obtained by any but trained teachers or in 
schools which were less perfectly organized. 

A word may be said as to the German teacher 
of modern languages. In the first place, he is 
invariably a German. The authorities are satisfied 
from experience that a trained German teacher 
is able to obtain much better results from German 
boys than a foreigner. That the German's "accent" 
in speaking French and English may not be 
perfect is admitted ; but, then, the authorities 
do not live in the vain hope, indulged in by the 
English parent, that a boy or girl will acquire 
at school a perfect foreign accent. On the other 
hand, while pursuing no such unattainable ideal, 
they maintain that even in the matter of pro- 
nunciation a German can teach German children 
better than a foreigner, who is quite unable to 
place himself at his pupils' point of view. To 
the training of the modern language teacher Ger- 
many has, of course, devoted special attention. 
Everything possible is done to induce him to visit 
foreign countries ; in his case, one of the three 
years which every candidate must pass at a German 
university may be spent at a university in the 
country of which he is studying the language. In 

143 



Influence of Realschulen. 

several large towns, the municipal authorities, 
knowing how much their commercial prosperity 
depends on the proper teaching of modern lan- 
guages in secondary schools, provide scholarships, 
enabling men who are actually engaged in teach- 
ing to spend six consecutive months in a foreign 
land. 

Those who seek for the educational foundations 
of Germany's past commercial success must study 
her Realschulen and Ober-Realschulen ; they must 
consider the way in which she has educated and 
trained the teachers of these schools ; and, above 
all, they must ponder the causes which have pro- 
duced the wide and general modern curriculum 
which the Government insists that these schools 
shall adopt. It was of some schools nearer home 
which Mr. Sadler must have been thinking when, 
in the paper already referred to, he said — ■ 

"To cram up little boys of fifteen with odds and 
ends of commercial law and generalizations of 
commercial geography is to waste precious time, 
which might have been devoted to subjects not 
only more elevating in themselves, but also more 
digestible by youthful minds. A school time- 
table which offers Latin and shorthand as alter- 
natives cannot properly be called a curriculum. 
It is more like a shop- window, from which the 
passer-by may choose whatever wares seem to 
him attractive." 

It is only within the last few years that Germany 

144 



Leipzig Commercial High School. 

has taken serious steps to provide commercial 
education of the highest order, and the Germans 
are still by no means unanimous as to its value. 
The scheme establishing the High School of Com- 
merce in Leipzig was approved by the Saxon 
Government in 1898. It is intended that this 
institution should hold precisely the same relation 
to commerce as the great technical high schools 
hold to Industry. Nobody is admitted to his 
course of studies who has not received a sound 
general education. Candidates are, according to 
the official regulations, admissible only if they 
satisfy one or other of the following conditions : — 

(a) They possess the certificate of Maturity of a 
Gymnasium, Real-Gymnasium, or Ober-Realschule. 

(b) They are persons engaged in trade who hold 
the six years' certificate of one of the secondary 
schools. 

(c) They are students from German Training 
Colleges, or Elementary School teachers who have 
passed the second general examination for such 
teachers. 

(d) They are foreigners over twenty years of age 
who can prove that they possess the required 
standard of preparatory education. 

In the year 1899-1900 there were 275 students 
in the Leipzig Commercial High School. Of these 
21 were 18 years of age, 42 were 19, 45 were 20, 
35 were 22, and 23 were over 30. The school 

145 



Leipzig Commercial High School. 

receives a small subsidy from the Saxon Govern- 
ment, and the Leipzig Chamber of Commerce 
undertakes all financial responsibility. Educa- 
tionally it is closely associated with the University, 
the professors of which have much to do with the 
organization of the courses of studies. 

The school offers two diplomas — one to students 
who have passed through a course of studies with 
success, and one to these who had passed a special 
examination to test their competence as teachers 
in commercial schools. It is yet too early to 
attempt to measure the results attained in Germany 
by the highest kind of commercial education. 



146 



CHAPTER V. 

THE FOUNDATIONS LAID IN FRANCE. 

The national purpose which we have seen at work 
in Germany is also to be traced in France through- 
out the course of the nineteenth century. But 
the political conditions affecting France during 
this period have been so different from those which 
have arisen in Prussia, that it would indeed be 
strange if there were any striking similarity 
between the systems of education in the two 
countries. The dawn of the nineteenth century 
saw the commencements of a new France, loud in 
its assertion of the rights of man. " Next to 
bread/' said one of the greatest figures in the 
Revolution, " education is the first need of the 
people." 

At the commencement of the Revolution, the 
followers of different philosophers, with their 
systems, their formulas and their constitutions, 
first attempted to guide the new democracy rising 
on the ruin of the old order of things. Voltaire 
was mainly responsible for the overthrow of the 
old systems. While, however, his teaching had 
n 147 



Influence of Philosophers. 

been chiefly negative, attacking accepted beliefs 
and recognized systems, Rousseau followed as the 
creator of beliefs and systems which were to 
replace those which were disappearing. 

It is not intended to suggest that in any 
country thinkers and philosophers actually control 
the course of human progress. From fime to 
time men grow discontented with the existing 
order of things ; the institutions which they have 
reared fail to satisfy actual needs. Silently they 
cease to support them — silently, because the very 
forms of speech which they have acquired have 
been moulded and fashioned under the influence 
of these institutions. Action — the physical push, 
so to speak — which will send these institutions 
tottering to the ground, is impossible until the 
new language is created, freeing men from the 
bonds of silence, and enabling them to inter- 
communicate, to plot, and to devise. At such 
moments a thinker will arise who finds the new 
language to express the silent thought. Such a 
man was Voltaire. 

But the inborn tendency to progress will never 
allow man to be satisfied with mere destruction. 
Anarchy may reign for a moment, but where 
man has destroyed he will inevitably rebuild, and 
the new language is not complete until it is made 
the medium for expressing, not merely the con- 
demnation of the old, but also the proclamation 

148 



Voltaire and Rousseau. 

of the new. Hesitating between the ills we 
have and those we know not of, we grope about 
searching for some assurance of future ameliora- 
tion, until silently we perceive a ray of truth 
illumining possible ultimate good. It shines not 
for us alone, it is visible to our fellows also. 
We need but the new language to call to one 
another across the darkness and above the 
tumult of the vanishing past : we need but 
the interchange of thought to give us that union 
and support of fellowship without which we fear 
to walk upon the unknown waters. The great 
thinker, who is the first to speak under these 
circumstances, will give us the new language ; he 
will express our thoughts for us in words, and thus 
may seem to posterity to influence us. But we 
know that when once we have communicated with 
our fellows, and have found the common purpose 
in all their hearts, the common perception of the 
new light in all their minds, we are urged onwards 
by the force of our own wills. 

Voltaire gave to the French the language of 
destruction, Rousseau gave them the language of 
creation. With all his paradoxes and false reason- 
ings, with all his baseless assumptions and weak- 
witted dreams, Rousseau it was who first proclaimed 
to France the dawn of the new light which she 
was silently contemplating. He would seem to 
say, " You have been told that the old order 

149 



Rousseau. 

of things is hopeless. I will tell you why it is 
hopeless. Everything is good when it leaves the 
hands of the Author of nature, but in the hands 
of man everything degenerates. Throw off, then, 
the bonds imposed by man ; refuse to submit 
to this overwhelming, crushing, all - enveloping 
system of modern civilization which has been 
built up in defiance of the laws of nature ; 
recognize these laws as your sole guide, and enter 
into the joys which Nature reserves for those who 
submit to her sway alone." Speaking the new 
language of Voltaire, the French people overthrew 
the Bastille. Welcoming the new language of 
Rousseau, the nation decreed that a statue should 
be raised to him, resting on a pedestal formed of 
the stones of the great prison. 

The work in which Rousseau consecrated the new 
language was not the Contrat Social, gospel as it 
was during a certain phase of the Revolution, but 
Entile, ou de I' Education. Here he expressed the 
silent thoughts, at work in all men's minds, which 
went to the very root of things. Education formed 
a basis to existing institutions ; not that the institu- 
tions were based upon an education which con- 
formed to natural laws. Quite the reverse. The 
institutions, outcomes of an artificial civilization, 
determined for their own support the nature 
and aims of education. In 1762, when Emile 
appeared, the institutions still stood erect, it is 

150 



Rousseau. 

true; but erect only as a dead man will stand 
on the field of battle, when the vital power has left 
him without disturbing the habitual equilibrium. 
Thinking silently, the people had withdrawn their 
support from these institutions ; they had only to 
adopt the language of Voltaire, and to interchange 
their thoughts, to unite to give the final shock 
which should send the artificial fabrics toppling to 
their ruin. 

It was not till this had happened that the 
people — the lower orders — heard the creative 
language of Emile. But the upper classes — the 
educated classes — heard it immediately, and 
adopted it. They were waiting expectantly for 
the lower classes to give the physical push to the 
hollow institutions ; they themselves gave it to 
the basis which they regarded as their own pecu- 
liar property, education. They had for long 
thought silently that a system of education was 
absurd which fashioned children, destined by Nature 
to be self-dependent, self-active men, for slavery to 
the all-enveloping institutions which had ceased 
to command their confidence. And, as Fate 
would have it, in the very year in which Emile 
appeared, the Jesuits, who reigned supreme over 
public education, were expelled from France. 
The new language was everywhere adopted by 
the upper classes. Even royalty heard it, not 
recognizing that it proclaimed its own ultimate 

151 



Rousseau. 

replacement. Expressing the thoughts of others, 
which could not have been its own, royalty caused 
the ill-starred prince, who was afterwards to be the 
victim of the Revolution, to be educated according 
to the new ideas. This was why Louis XVI. 
learnt a trade, and why, later on, when a prisoner 
in his own palace, he found his sole amusement in 
making locks : " He sends for his smith's tools ; 
gives, in the course of the day, official or cere- 
monious business being ended, ' a few strokes of 
the file.' " 

Rousseau expressed the general feeling of his 
time, which revolted against an education designed 
in support of existing institutions. He proclaimed 
the right of man to independence, even in his 
education. Emile opens with the statement, already 
quoted, that "everything is good on leaving the 
hands of the Author of nature, but in the hands 
of man everything degenerates." The state of 
nature being, therefore, preferable to that of 
civilization, the education of man should conform 
to the laws of nature, and be a preparation 
in the fullest liberty for the natural state, rather 
than an adjustment to the surroundings of his 
future life and the existing social organization. 
And it was in his opposition to this latter aim 
of education that Rousseau voiced most clearly 
the thought of the upper classes of his time — a 
thought which spread to the lower classes in the 

152 



Two Fundamental Views. 

Revolutionary period of the second decade after 
his death. 

The duty of educating man as man, apart from 
all considerations of social organization, was the 
thought, expressed by Rousseau in Entile, which 
remained when the other fundamental principles 
he uttered had been forgotten. And the nine- 
teenth century witnessed in France a continual 
contest between two views — the one admitting 
the right of every child, irrespective of his social 
position, to the fullest education of which he was 
capable ; and the other demanding that educa- 
tion should confirm the existing social organi- 
zation. We find the one or the other dominating 1 
according as the principles of democracy rose and 
fell. It is thus not a national purpose — in so far 
as it regards competition with foreign rivals — 
which we perceive at work in the development of 
French education in the century which has passed, 
though, as we shall see later on, such a purpose 
did play an important part in this development ; 
it is rather a social purpose, directed either towards 
the promotion of absolute social equality, or, on 
the contrary, towards the confirmation of class 
distinctions. 

In 1 79 1, at the opening of the Revolution which 
was to confirm the absolute equality of all men, 
it is officially stated in the Constitution that : 
" There shall be created and organized a public 

153 



Napoleon. 

instruction, common to all citizens, gratuitous as 
regards those parts of education indispensable to 
all men." But little more was done than to formu- 
late such principles ; the First Republic was too 
busy fighting for its existence against enemies at 
home and abroad, to put its educational ideas into 
practice. 

Napoleon followed with his tyranny of merit, 
and built up his Imperial University, a body 
charged with all the public education of the 
empire. By a decree of 1808 all schools in this 
organization were obliged to take the precepts 
of the Catholic religion as the basis of their 
teaching, and to inculcate fidelity to the emperor, 
to the Imperial monarchy, and to the Napoleonic 
dynasty. In 18 15 Napoleon was overthrown, and 
the old monarchy, with its leanings towards the 
former social system, restored. The Napoleonic 
educational system was, however, maintained ; but 
little progress was made in public education, 
except in so far as the right of any authorized 
religious association to supply teachers for the 
elementary schools was recognized by law. 

With the accession of Louis-Philippe in 1830 
the real work of education, as affecting all classes 
of the nation, may be said to have begun. This 
monarchy depended on the support of the middle 
classes ; and the education of the middle classes, in 
confirmation of the existing social order, appears 

154 



Reign of Louis-Philippe. 

to have been the chief aim of the educational 
development of his reign. The elementary schools 
were increased, as will be seen from the following 
comparative tables for the years 1832 and 1850 : — 

1832. 1850. 

Number of public schools • 32,520 • 43,843 



private „ . 9,572 

Total . 42,092 

Number of pupils (boys) . 1,202,673 

»» 11 (girls) . 734,909 

Total . 1,937,582 

Illiterates .... 47 '8% 



16,736 
60,579 

1,793.667 

i>528,756 

3,322,423 
35*4% 



But it is when we turn to the education higher 
than primary that we begin to perceive the social 
tendencies at work. All nations occupying a fore- 
most rank in modern civilization now give much 
the same elementary education to the children of 
the poorer classes. It is not until the secondary 
stage is reached that we find marked differences 
between the systems ; and it may truly be said 
that the development of the system of secondary 
schools marks at present with approximate accu- 
racy the exact rank that a nation holds in 
civilization. We have seen that in England our 
secondary system is not yet established. We 
have also seen in an earlier chapter that, under 
the leadership of Prussia, Germany has made her 
secondary schools the centre and support of her 
whole national system of education. France 

155 



Guizot. 

offers a very interesting comparison, all the more 
interesting to us because in what attempts the 
State has made in England to build up a secondary 
system, it has followed the example of France 
rather than of Germany. 

The French Minister to whom almost all of the 
educational reforms of the reign of Louis-Philippe 
are due is Guizot. Guizot was an historian before 
he was a politician ; not a mere relator of events, 
but one who searched for the causes producing 
events and the lessons they had to teach for 
future guidance. His historical studies had led 
him to the conclusion that liberty was essential 
to the stability of government. But by "liberty" 
he did not understand the natural freedom of 
Rousseau. According to Guizot, " liberty is in its 
essence the simultaneous manifestation and action 
of all interests, rights, powers, and social elements." 
In short, it was, so to speak, an equilibrium estab- 
lished among all the rival social forces, a kind of 
social balance of power. He considered that the 
whole movement of European history had tended 
towards the raising up, strengthening, and enriching 
of a middle class ; and it was on this middle class 
that the desired equilibrium depended. But it 
was in the richer middle classes that the real 
strength resided. His object was therefore to 
restore the institutions overthrown by the Revolu- 
tion, not on the democratic basis of the early days 

l 5 6 



Guizot and the Middle Classes. 

of the Revolution, nor on the autocratic basis 
of merit founded by Napoleon ; neither did he 
favour the aristocratic views of the two preceding 
monarchs. The foundation which he considered 
alone stable was plutocratic. And it was with 
due attention to the political theory which he had 
thus formed that he set about the work of educa- 
tional reform. 

Guizot was aided by the fact that there were to 
be found the same forces at work both in France 
and Germany, pressing for radical, and what may 
in a sense be called democratic, reforms in second- 
ary education. But whereas the Germans, full of 
national enthusiasm, took Pestalozzi, the practical 
educator, as their guide, the French democrats 
founded their views on the half-philosophical, half- 
political theories expressed by Rousseau. And 
we may therefore expect to find the political, and 
still further the social, movements of the last cen- 
tury exercising greater influence on educational 
development in France than in Germany. We 
find, for instance, the same revolt in both countries 
against the purely classical teaching of the second- 
ary schools. But the revolt in France is marked 
far more by its attacks on the social privileges 
represented by these schools than in Germany. 
Indeed, it appears as if the broad distinction might 
be drawn that, whereas in Germany education has 
been generally expressed in terms of national 

157 



French Democrats. 

prosperity, in France it has been expressed in 
terms of social equality. The French democrat 
had certainly a keen appreciation of the joys of 
national supremacy, but in internal affairs his 
main purpose seems not so much to have been to 
achieve individual liberty as social equality. First 
he attempted this by abolishing institutions with 
the privileges they represented ; but then, finding 
the dead level of general equality unsatisfactory 
and perpetual motion of the guillotine undesirable, 
he was ready to accept any institutions which 
would bestow on him the privilege of equality 
with those in the highest social ranks. Then rose 
up a fresh stratum of democrats to abolish these 
institutions in their turn, and to capture the social 
privileges for themselves. It was this social unrest 
and continual changing that Guizot wished to 
remove. His task would have been hopeless had 
it not been for that apparent permanency in the 
actual system of government referred to in an 
earlier chapter. 

That he first of all consolidated and widened 
the system of primary education may be re- 
garded, not as a democratic step — his ultimate 
overthrow was due to his stubborn refusal to make 
any concession to democratic principles — but 
rather as a recognition of the necessity for the 
education of all classes of the people according to 
the positions which they were called to occupy. 

i 5 8 



Causes of Higher Primary Education. 

But where the lower classes are moved by strong 
desires to attain to equality with the highest social 
orders, they will invariably endeavour to obtain 
the right to that education which will admit them 
to these ranks. With this tendency Guizot, in 
his desire for social equilibrium, could have no 
sympathy. Speaking of the gap between primary 
and secondary education, he said — 

" It is absolutely essential to fill up this gap. A 
considerable proportion of our countrymen must be 
given the opportunity of attaining a certain level of 
intellectual development without imposing upon 
them the necessity of having recourse to secondary 
instruction, which is both uncertain in its returns 
and expensive. Indeed, for the few fortunate men 
of talent that classical education develops, and 
removes with profit to themselves from their first 
surroundings, on how many mediocrities does it 
not bestow habits and tastes incompatible with 
the humble station to which they must inevitably 
return ? And because they have once left their 
natural sphere, they are at a loss by what path to 
force their way in life, and rarely become other 
than ungrateful, discontented, unhappy beings, a 
burden to others and to themselves." 

It was on this account that Guizot founded 
the system of higher primary education. It is 
true that when he referred to the unsuitability of 
the classical secondary education, he was express- 
ing a feeling which also existed in Germany. But, 
generally speaking, while it appeared necessary 

159 



Utilitarianism. 

to the French statesman to throw obstacles 
in the way of the social ambitions which would 
lead parents to send their children to the 
classical secondary school, Prussia was considering 
how she could provide a modern secondary educa- 
tion side by side with the classical school ; not in 
fear of social ambitions, but because such an 
education appeared essential to the proper de- 
velopment of a large portion of the nation. This 
difference, which goes on increasing between the 
two systems, is a fundamental one, and calls for 
very special attention from those English educa- 
tionists who study the schools of the two countries. 

It is significant that about this time there was 
in France a strong opinion in favour of what 
is called " practical " education, that is to say, 
education which is strictly utilitarian in its aim. 
The great self-educated scientist, Arago, expressed 
this opinion in 1836, in the well-known saying, 
"You don't make beet-root sugar with fine phrases." 
It may be noticed, in passing, that similar argu- 
ments have been used in favour of the educative 
value of science as opposed to literature by not 
a few English educationists within the last ten 
years. 

Guizot's system of higher primary schools met 
with little success for many years. Without tracing 
it through all its changing fortunes, it is only 
necessary here to notice the chief points in its 

160 



Growth of Higher Primary System. 

historical development. Under Napoleon III., 
when democratic tendencies were held in check 
by other means, the higher primary schools were 
allowed to languish. Considerable progress was, 
however, made in elementary education, the 
number of illiterates, which in 1850 was 35*4 
per cent, had been reduced in 1872 to 19*1 per 
cent. At the same time, the State tightened 
its grasp on the schools, the number of private 
schools falling from 16,736 in 1850 to 13,866 
in 1872. Consequently, the public expenditure 
on primary education increased between 1865 
and 1872 by more than 26,000,000 francs. Private 
enterprise seems, however, merely to have been 
turned into other channels, for it is during 
this period that we find it energetically directed, 
assisted by public enterprise, to the establishment 
of adult classes, apprentice classes, and evening 
continuation schools. These, however, in no way 
provided higher primary education as originally 
organized. 

But most important of all was the establishment 
of the modern branch of secondary education in 
1865. At this date France was again attempting 
to realize her dreams of national supremacy in 
Europe. And it is, therefore, not astonishing to 
find her attempting to introduce reforms in her 
secondary education on the lines adopted by 
Prussia. Had the disaster of 1870 not resulted for 

161 



Higher Primary System. 

France in a return to a Republican form of govern- 
ment, it is not improbable that the modern 
secondary school would have thriven and removed 
all need for higher primary education. But such 
was not to be its fate. 

In 1878 the French Parliament for the first 
time turned its attention seriously to the higher 
primary question, and voted 1 10,000 francs for 
the salaries of masters and scholarships for pupils 
in higher primary schools. From then onward 
these schools have rapidly developed. While in 
1878 there were only about forty such schools 
in France, there were 256 in 1889, besides 431 
so-called cours complementaires. It only remains 
to trace, during the last ten years, their rapid 
development, based on the Free Education Act 
of 1880, and the Act of 1886. 

The cours complementaires were first of all sepa- 
rated from the higher primary schools, and defined 
as a one-year's additional course to the elementary 
school, of which it forms a distinct part. The 
higher primary school, on the other hand, is, except 
in a few places, carried on in a separate building 
of its own, provides a minimum course of two 
years' instruction, and is under a different director 
from the elementary school. Three or more years 
of instruction must be given for it to be recog- 
nized as providing a full course. In 1889 there 
were existing two kinds of higher primary schools — 

162 



Higher Primary System. 

professionnelles and non-prof essionnelles, the former 
being under the control of the Minister of Public 
Instruction, and the latter under the joint control 
of this Minister and the Minister of Commerce. 
The result was that the "professional" element 
was found to predominate in both, that is to say, 
that special instruction for various occupations was 
tending to oust general instruction altogether. In 
1892, however, a separation between the two types 
was commenced, and at present they are clearly 
defined. 

There are thus two distinct types of school 
to supplement elementary education : (1) the 
higher primary schools, under the Minister of 
Public Instruction, and (2) the practical schools 
of commerce and industry, under the Minister 
of Commerce. Speaking generally, it appears 
that the Ministry of Commerce has favoured 
specialization within the limits which we are now 
discussing, and, as we shall see later, also in 
higher grades of education ; whereas the Ministry 
of Public Instruction has, as far as possible, been 
guided in its work by the scientific laws governing 
the process of education. 

In 1890 it was calculated that at least one-half 
of the pupils in the higher primary schools were 
destined for agricultural, industrial, or commercial 
occupations, and at present the proportion is over 
two-thirds. Discussing the aim of these schools 
12 163 



Higher Primary Schools — 

in 1893, the Minister of Public Instruction, M. 
Charles Dupuy, said, in an official circular — • 

" Who are the pupils attending them ? They 
are not young people destined for wide careers, 
having indefinite time at their disposal, and 
asking from us high intellectual culture ; they 
are children of the working classes, who will re- 
quire to live by their labour, and, in most cases, 
by the work of their hands. They do not aspire 
to classical studies ; their ambition and probable 
destiny is to fill one of the numerous positions of 
an unpretentious character that agriculture, com- 
merce, and industry offer to workers, with the 
prospect of attaining, by gradual steps, to a state of 
moderate ease. 

" If this is so, the higher primary school will 
merely direct its pupils, from start to finish, to- 
wards the requirements of the practical life that 
awaits them ; it will not turn their minds for a 
moment from the pursuit of a profession ; it will 
be careful not to let them acquire habits, tastes, 
and ideas which will separate them from the 
manner of life and work for which they are in- 
tended. And, while at the same time reminding 
them that democracy broke down the barriers which 
formerly restricted so seriously the liberty of the 
individual, it will try rather to make them love and 
honour their career than to dream of the means 
of quitting it." 

He concluded, therefore, that there could be no 
possible confusion of aim between these schools 
and the modern branch of secondary education, 
and he defined the aim of the former as follows : — 

164 



and " Practical y ' Schools. 

"The entirely practical and utilitarian character of 
the higher primary school may be recognized at the 
first glance : in this general sense it is ' professional.' 
But nevertheless it remains absolutely instructive ; 
it does not lend itself to apprenticeship. It is a 
school, not a workshop ; its members are scholars, 
not apprentices. In it we continue the work 
begun in the primary school. Even for the work- 
man (ought we not rather to say, before everything 
else for the workman ?) this mental cultivation — ■ 
by which is formed judgment, affection, will, 
character, indeed, all those powers which he, more 
than any one, will need in the struggle for existence 
— is not a misplaced luxury. 

" Our higher primary schools have, therefore, 
this double object which has been assigned to them 
from the outset : they unite in the closest associa- 
tion a completing of general education with a 
beginning of professional instruction." 

The Minister of Commerce, in his turn, in a 
circular issued a week later, defined the aim of the 
new "practical schools/' He recognized the need 
of a solid basis of general instruction, and stated 
that this must not be lost sight of. He con- 
tinued — 

" But we must also consider the needs of 
commerce and industry. Every day, indeed, the 
commercial struggle between nations becomes 
more ardent, and the difficulty of trade greater. 
Industry has undergone a profound transforma- 
tion ; everything is sacrificed to the end to be 
attained, which is to produce quickly and cheaply ; 
and in consequence of the division of labour 
and the introduction of machinery, workshop 

165 



Higher Primary & " Practical " Schools. 

apprenticeship does not exist to-day, except 
in a few rare instances. Nevertheless, in conse- 
quence of the frequent changes which must be 
effected in plant and tools, the necessity of possess- 
ing workmen having adequate theoretical know- 
ledge, and thoroughly trained to the conditions of 
the workshop, has never been so clearly necessary. 
We cannot afford to ignore the fact that it is to 
our interest to fill up a gap existing by the force 
of circumstances in our commercial and industrial 
organization, and it has become indispensable to 
provide our merchants with carefully prepared 
assistants, and to furnish our factories with high- 
class workmen. This is the task of the practical 
school." 



How far this aim has been kept in view in the 
two kinds of schools may best be judged by study- 
ing the annexed time-tables. 

We thus see that a vast system of higher primary 
education has been built up which in no way forms 
part of the so-called educational ladder. It is in 
itself intended to be complete, and makes no attempt 
to train its pupils to proceed to the secondary 
school. There is, indeed, no link between this 
branch and secondary education, and there is 
intended to be none. From statistics exhibited in 
the section of the Ministry of Public Instruction 
at the last Paris Exhibition, it may be inferred 
that the system is successful, in that it tends to 
keep children in the professions or occupations of 
their parents. 

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167 



Higher Primary & " Practical " Schools. 

The comparison between the time-tables of the 
" general " branch of the French higher primary 
schools and that of the Prussian Realschule on 
p. 8 1 is instructive. And it should be remembered 
that this "general" branch represents only one part 
of the organization under the Ministry of Public 
Instruction. That this Ministry is contending 
against the specializing tendencies of the Ministry 
of Commerce is shown by the fact that, by com- 
paring the second and third years of the industrial 
section of the higher primary schools with the 
same years of the practical schools of industry, the 
following result is obtained by the French authori- 
ties : In the former, 28 hours a- week are given to 
theoretical instruction, and 28 to practical ; while 
in the latter only 19J are given to theoretical, but 
77 to practical instruction. 

At the close of the higher primary course 
a certificate is given to those pupils who pass 
a leaving examination. In 1899, out of 3708 
candidates, 1754 were successful in passing this 
examination. At present this certificate carries 
no special privileges with it,* and apparently confers 
but little advantage on the bearer. But probably 
in time it will obtain admission to certain Govern- 
ment posts, and will be recognized at its proper 
value by employers. 

* For its future use as a means of admission to certain technical 
schools, see p. 187. 

168 



Modern Secondary Education. 

Before proceeding to consider the higher branches 
of the education of those classes for whose benefit 
the higher primary system has been devised, a few 
words may be said here as to the development of 
secondary schools in France. As stated above, an 
attempt was made in 1865 to create schools of the 
same nature as the German Realschulen. This 
attempt may be said to have failed because the 
pupils of these schools were allowed none of the 
privileges, chief among which is admission to 
the universities, granted to those in the higher 
branches of secondary education. Had it suc- 
ceeded, there would now be no place for higher 
primary schools. Looking back on the course of 
development of the educational system of France 
during the nineteenth century, the predominant 
aim of the State appears to have been the checking 
of the democratic tendencies towards social equality. 
We shall see later on that in America, during the 
same period, no such checks have been placed on 
democratic tendencies, and yet there has been 
no overcrowding of those special professions and 
occupations which are considered to bestow a 
certain social sanction. In France, however, for 
reasons already stated, such checks appear to have 
been essential. It is difficult to believe that they 
are so in England. 

The social considerations alluded to have also 
had their influence on the actual development of 

169 



Modern Secondary Education. 

secondary education. It will immediately be 
evident that, where such a course of studies as 
that in the general section of the higher primary 
schools has been planned to meet the needs of the 
lower social orders, there will be great prejudices 
against a similar course in secondary schools, which 
are fed by those with higher social aspirations. 
And, consequently, we find in France almost the 
same social prejudice against the exclusion of Latin 
from the secondary schools as we find in England. 
The annexed table, exhibited in the Educational 
section of the recent Paris Exhibition, will show 
plainly the present arrangement of the secondary 
schools in France. It will be observed that both 
in France and in England, modern and classical 
"sides" are to be found in the same schools. 
But this is by no means necessarily the case; 
in Paris, for instance, three Lycees and one 
College have no modern side, and one Lycee 
and one College no classical side. 

It should be noticed that the French have no 
leaving examination corresponding to that in the 
German secondary schools. The examination for 
the degree of Bachelier in some way replaces this, 
but it is an examination held at the university, 
and not in the secondary school. A candidate 
may present himself as many times as he likes, 
and may have been prepared by practically any 
school or any teachers. The different branches of 

170 



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«5 




The Baccalaureat. 

this examination have, in short, come to be regarded 
as bestowing a degree carrying with it admission 
to various professions and further courses of study, 
rather than as affording a test of having passed 
satisfactorily through a certain course of secondary 
education. 

Since 1890 this examination has been divided 
into two distinct sections. The first, called the 
classical baccalaureate has been subdivided into 
the two sections : (1) literary-philosophical, and 
(2) literary-mathematical ; the second, the modern 
baccalaureat^ into three sections : (1) literary-philo- 
sophical, (2) literary-scientific, and (3) literary- 
mathematical. These two sections correspond 
respectively to the two sides in the foregoing 
time-table. It will be seen, therefore, that the 
candidates for the modern baccalaure'at are younger 
than those for the classical. It is not surprising 
that the former should carry with it fewer privi- 
leges than the latter. The relative popularity of 
the classical side is shown by the fact that three 
times as many candidates present themselves for 
the classical as for the modern baccalaureat. There 
is at present a very strong movement in favour 
of raising the modern side to the same level as 
that of the classical, and reintroducing the old 
baccalaureat-es- sciences ; which is, of course, not 
satisfactorily replaced by the second section of 
the higher division in the present arrangement. 

171 



Ecoles Nationales Professionnelles. 

When reviewing the technical tendencies of the 
higher primary schools, it was seen that there 
is a tendency on the part of the Ministry of 
Public Instruction to insist, as far as possible, on 
general education in all schools under its control. 
The Ministry of Commerce, on the other hand, 
stands for the utilitarian rather than for the educa- 
tional idea, and, consequently, it has gradually 
drawn beneath its sway all those schools in which 
the special technical aim predominates. We do 
not find in France any clearly defined system of 
schools, as in Germany ; indeed, the French system 
presents a good deal of confusion, and the struggle 
in the higher primary sphere between the two 
Ministries, representing more or less antagonistic 
ideas, produces of necessity a certain amount of 
overlapping of effort. At times, indeed, it appears 
that there must on this account be a good deal of 
unnecessary expenditure. In the case of the Ecoles 
Nationales Professionnelles, for instance, it is diffi- 
cult to see how the Ministry of Public Instruction 
has had in practice anything more than a purely 
utilitarian and technical aim. Speaking in 1898, 
however, M. Buisson, to whom French primary 
education and that of all other countries lies under 
a heavy debt, thus drew a distinction — 

"They are in no way special technical schools 
. . . they offer a complete scholastic system (des 
groupes scolaires), comprising the infants' school, 

172 



r 

Ecoles Nationales Professionnelles. 

the elementary school, and the higher primary 
school ; and in all grades there is professional 
education, increasing by regular gradations from the 
first years, in which it is practically non-existent, 
until the last half-year, when it is every thin g. 
Having arrived at this stage, the apprentice, who 
now only requires the practice of his trade to 
become a workman, leaves the ecole nationale 
either to enter the workshop or to proceed to a 
real technical school. These schools, therefore, 
are establishments offering a preparation for general 
life, as well as for the special life of the work- 
man." 

However this may be, it is difficult for any one 
who is accustomed to the educational ideas of 
different countries to regard these schools as other 
than technical. It is true that they pay attention 
to general instruction, judging from their time- 
tables, but every one who saw their very fine 
exhibit at the recent Paris Exhibition was struck 
chiefly with the great technical skill displayed by 
their pupils. At that moment they were, in fact, 
considered ripe for the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industry, though the Ministry of Public Instruction 
regarded them as the crown of the two hundred 
higher primary schools for boys. The most striking 
objects among their exhibits were an agricultural 
locomotive, a petroleum motor working a dynamo, 
gates of forged iron, a steam-engine, and various 
pieces of furniture. Where boys are taught mainly 
to make such things as these, the school may fairly 

173 



Practical Schools of Commerce 

be considered technical. Indeed, one cannot refrain 
from thinking that a great many of the fine dis- 
tinctions which are drawn between technical and 
general education are due to the anxiety of the 
Ministry of Public Instruction to maintain its 
claim to the schools which it has in the past 
controlled with such marked success. There are 
now four of these schools : Vierzon, founded in 
1881 ; Armentieres and Voiron, in 1882; and 
Nantes, in 1898. 3,193 pupils passed through these 
schools between the years 1889 and 1899. 

Of the other technical schools in the higher 
primary sphere we may notice here the Practical 
Schools of Commerce and Industry referred to in 
the foregoing pages. It has been seen how these 
schools were placed under the sole control of the 
Ministry of Commerce.* Being primary, they 
come under the law making all primary instruction 
free, and therefore they charge no fees. There are 
now thirty-three (thirty-one actually at work in 
1900) of these schools in different parts of France, 
founded or transformed since 1892. In the budget 
of 1889, 1,174,909 francs were voted for the 
encouragement of industrial and commercial edu- 
cation, including the support of these schools. Of 
the thirty-one at work in 1900, thirteen give 
industrial education only, two commercial instruc- 
tion only, and sixteen both kinds of instruction. 

* Cf. p. 162, et sqq, and also Comparative Time-table on p. 167. 

174 



and Industry. 

In 1898 there were 4000 boys and girls attending 
the twenty-seven schools of this kind then open. 

No boy or girl is admitted to these schools 
under the age of twelve. If the candidate for 
admission be under thirteen years of age, the 
leaving certificate of the primary school must be 
produced. If more than thirteen, the candidate who 
is not in possession of this certificate must undergo 
an examination. In any case a competitive 
examination may be held for admission where 
the number of candidates is greater than the 
number of places vacant. Provision may be made 
for boarders, with the special permission of the 
Minister. This is sometimes desirable where the 
schools have to serve a large district. A number 
of scholarships are given by the Ministry, by the 
departments, and by the communes, both for 
boarding and maintenance. These scholarships 
are awarded by preference to the children of poor 
parents, who intend to follow the normal courses 
— that is to say, the courses which prepare directly 
for a profession and not for higher technical schools. 
The scholarships are generally, but not invariably, 
awarded on the results of a competitive exami- 
nation, held once a year. 

At the close of the full course, in both the 
industrial and commercial schools, an examination 
is held for a leaving certificate. To obtain these 
certificates the candidate must gain not less than 

175 



Practical Schools of Commerce 

an average of twelve marks out of twenty, and in 
no single subject less than five. 

The masters and mistresses in these schools 
must hold certificates of aptitude as head or 
assistant teacher, as the case may be. These 
certificates are awarded on the results of a very 
searching examination, regulated by the ministerial 
decree. As usual, these examinations are both 
oral and written. It is interesting to notice that, 
in the case of the teachers in the commercial 
schools, a number of the successful candidates at 
the certificate examination are awarded scholar- 
ships to enable them to study in England, Spain, 
or Germany, according to the special language in 
which they have proved themselves proficient in 
the examination. They must leave France within 
a month of the close of the examination, and reside 
for ten full months in the town which has been 
selected for them. The holders of such scholar- 
ships must sign an engagement to serve for six 
years in a Practical School of Commerce or 
Industry. Every two months they must send to 
the proper authorities a report of their doings in 
the foreign country, written in the language they 
are studying. On their return from abroad they 
must pass a further examination. One part of 
this examination consists in giving a lesson on a 
selected commercial subject in the foreign language, 
the candidate being allowed four hours to prepare 

176 



and Industry. 

the lesson. The other parts of the examination 
consist of an interrogation on political economy 
and the history of commerce. 

Too much stress cannot be laid on the fact that 
both in France and Germany it is considered that 
the first essential to efficient schools of every kind 
are properly qualified teachers, and that money 
and thought is therefore devoted to their training. 

The nature of the Practical Schools of Commerce 
and Industry may best be understood from a short 
account of one of them. Not the least well known 
is the Practical School of Industry at Saint- 
Etienne. 

In 1879 the municipal council of Saint-Etienne 
passed a resolution in favour of establishing a 
technical high school. But, though similar reso- 
lutions were adopted on several subsequent occa- 
sions, they led to no practical result. In 1882, 
however, the council demanded merely an fcole 
professionnelle, and, at the same sitting in which 
the resolution was adopted, voted 130,000 francs 
for the creation of such a school in a large house 
owned by the municipality. A few months later 
this plan was approved by the superior authorities, 
and the school was opened, at the end of the same 
year, with fifty-four pupils. It was soon found 
necessary to provide more commodious quarters, 
and in 1884 the municipality began to construct 
a suitable building on a large piece of land 

177 



Practical School of Industry for Boys. 

possessed by the town. In eighteen months the 
school was at work in its new quarters. 

When the buildings were opened, the equip- 
ment was far from complete, and the pupils 
themselves were set to work to supply what was 
still wanting. For several years, during the first 
of which they were aided by a professional work- 
man, they were employed in making the necessary 
machines, tools, models, and various apparatus. 
The work which they thus performed has been 
estimated at the value of 35,000 francs. 

On its creation the school received the title of 
higher primary and " professional " school, and 
was exclusively under the control of the Minister 
of Public Instruction; but later it was placed under 
the dual control of this Minister and the Minister 
of Commerce. Since 1892, however, the latter 
Minister has been solely responsible for this 
school, which since that date has borne its present 
title. 

The school consists of two buildings. In the 
first is carried on the general instruction, and 
consists of — five class-rooms, each built for sixty 
pupils ; five lecture-rooms ; one chemical amphi- 
theatre with 150 places ; a chemical laboratory; a 
physical amphitheatre ; a laboratory for industrial 
electricity ; a large art-room, with a store-room 
for models ; a library ; a museum, etc. 

In the second buildings are the engine (35 H.P.) 

178 



Practical School of Industry for Boys. 

and a dynamo, which supplies 270 lamps (20- 
candle power), one arc lamp, and the electrical 
laboratory. The rest of the building consists of 
the different workshops, covering altogether 1400 
square metres. These workshops are eight in 
number : namely, two mechanical workshops, a 
smiths' shop, a workshop for armoury and in- 
dustrial electricity, a joiners' and pattern shop, 
a weaving shed, a dyeing and bleaching shed, 
and a sculpture and modelling room. 

So far, 673,000 francs have been spent on this 
school, divided thus : — 

Building and equipment 455,000 francs. 

Plant 160,000 ,, 

Teaching material 58,000 ,, 

Total 673,000 ,, 

The yearly budget of the school shows an ex- 
penditure of 106,777 francs, of which 43,790 are 
provided by the State, and 62,987 by the town. 
The Chamber of Commerce gives 300 francs 
yearly for prizes ; two other prizes of 100 francs 
have been given, and a sum of 40,000 francs was 
bequeathed for the same purpose. 

The length of the course at the Saint-Etienne 
school is four years. The first year is called the 
preparatory year. During this year the elementary 
education of the pupils is completed, and they 
pass through all the different workshops in order 
13 179 



Practical School of Industry for Boys. 

that their special aptitudes and tastes may be 
determined. The number of hours per week 
generally devoted to each subject in all schools 
of this sort are shown by the official time-tables. 
In this school, however, the hours are reduced — 
a reduction which is justified by the existence 
of the preparatory year in addition to the courses 
decreed by the official regulations, and which is 
necessitated by the fact that the families of many 
of the pupils live so far away that it is impossible 
for them to come to school before 7.30 a.m. or to 
remain after 6.30 p.m. 

The following note in the official account of this 
school, from which the above information has 
been derived, is instructive, as showing the fear 
ever present in the minds of the French educational 
authorities of encouraging ambitions which pupils 
may not in after life be able to satisfy. It states 
that, Saint-Etienne, like other schools of the same 
type, prepares candidates for higher technical 
schools. 

"But," it adds, "it is all important to avoid 
making dec/asses; therefore these candidates do 
not, properly speaking, form a special section. 
Indeed, they follow the same courses as the other 
pupils. ... It is only during the year which 
precedes their examinations, and during a part 
of the time which is devoted to work in the shops, 
that they receive private instruction in the subjects 

180 



Practical School of Industry for Boys. 

of the examinations for admission to the higher 
schools. Thus, in case of failure, they are not 
stranded (devoyes) ; they can, like their fellow- 
pupils, enter a workshop or factory. Moreover, 
pupils are admitted to this special instruction 
only at their own request, and if they are found 
to possess the necessary ability." 

In the years 1894 to 1899 there were 116 such 
candidates who presented themselves at the ex- 
aminations for admission to the technical schools 
of a higher grade. Out of these seventy-two proved 
successful. During the same period four pupils on 
leaving the school entered a lycte, two of whom 
proceeded thence to higher technical schools. 

In 1900 there were more than four hundred 
boys in this school. At first it attracted only 
the children of the working-classes, and some 
who had proved unsuccessful in other kinds of 
schools ; but now foremen, managers, employers, 
and persons still higher in the industrial scale, 
send their children to be taught there. Thirty- 
two of the pupils hold scholarships. Of the 
scholarships awarded on examination, one pupil 
holds one of 500 francs, nine hold scholarships of 
250 francs, and twelve scholarships of 125 francs. 
Five pupils also hold scholarships of 250 francs 
and five of 125 francs, which were awarded with- 
out competitive examination. All these scholar- 
ships were granted by the State, neither the 

181 



A Practical School of Commerce 

department nor the town giving any assistance in 
this way. There is no boarding establishment 
connected with the institution. 

Perhaps the best test which can be applied to the 
practical benefits to be derived from such a school 
is that of the wages its pupils receive in later life 
compared with those of men who receive no such 
education. An inquiry was made in this con- 
nection with regard to 730 pupils. Of these, 
those who had left the school in the middle or at 
the end of the third year were earning 4*50 francs 
at the age of twenty ; those who had left it at 
the middle or at the end of the fourth year were 
earning 5*20 francs at the same age. The school 
authorities remark that this is better than the 
I franc a day earned by young men who have had 
no such education. 

In the same town there is a Practical School of 
Commerce and Industry for girls, but a brief account 
of a similar school at Havre may prove more in- 
teresting. The early history of this school was 
much the same as that of the boys at Saint- 
Etienne. It is now located in a building specially 
constructed for the purpose in 1880. It contains 
five class-rooms, one music-room, one art-room, 
three cutting-out rooms, one ironing-room, one 
kitchen, one trying-on room. The sewing and 
ironing rooms contain the following equipment : — 

Four sewing - machines ; twenty - one dress- 

182 



and Industry for Girls. 

makers' models of different sizes ; irons for press- 
ing seams ; embroidery frames of different sorts. 
A separate building- contains : the ironing-room 
(with irons for polishing, goffering, etc.) ; the 
laundry, with various washing and drying 
machines. 

The town of Havre undertook all the expenses 
of construction, amounting to about 198,000 francs, 
together with 18,000 francs for later improvements. 
The school costs the town about 29,000 francs 
a year, but against this must be set 4500 francs 
produced by the work of the pupils. The only 
other resources are about 4000 francs from the 
State, and 100 francs from the department in 
which the town is situated. In 1899 there were 
105 girls in the commercial and 156 in the in- 
dustrial section. The following statistics are 
interesting. In 1897 sixty-five pupils were being 
instructed in dressmaking,' fifty- five in the making 
of underlinen, twelve in ironing, eight in mil- 
linery, and fifteen in art needlework. In the 
School of Commerce there were eighty pupils. 
Five of these, on leaving the school, entered a 
training-college for primary teachers, and four 
went into business. Twenty-eight pupils took up 
industrial occupations, or went back to their 
families to exercise different professions ; four 
went to England, and eighty-five obtained various 
certificates. It is found that about one- third of 

1S3 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

the pupils in the industrial section return to their 
families on leaving the school, and do not take 
up independent employment. 

In connection with this school the Friendly 
Association of past and present pupils should be 
noticed. This association, which meets as often 
as possible in the school, consists of 166 present 
pupils and 105 past pupils and their friends. 
Such associations have proved a great success 
in connection with many French schools. They 
possess numerous advantages, and are particularly 
useful in helping pupils to find situations on 
leaving the school. 

Above the Practical Schools of Commerce and 
Industry — but not in any way complementary to 
them, in the sense that the lower prepare pupils 
for the higher — come the Ecoles Nationales a" Arts 
et Metiers. In 1788 the Duke of La Roche- 
foucault-Liancourt founded a school, in one of 
his farms near Liancourt, for the sons of the 
non-commissioned officers of his regiment of 
cavalry. His idea was that these children should 
learn a trade while undergoing the ordinary course 
of general instruction. In 1799 the Government 
of the Republic declared this school national, and 
transferred it to Compiegne. When Napoleon 
was first Consul he visited this school. As a 
result of his observation of the ignorance of 
French workmen he remarked — 

184 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

" Everywhere I have found foremen dis- 
tinguished in their art, and displaying remark- 
able skill in execution, but hardly one who was 
able to make a sketch or the simplest mechanical 
calculation, or who was able to express his ideas 
by a drawing or in writing. There is thus a want 
in French industry which I mean to supply here. 
We will have no more Latin (that will be taught 
in the lycees which are going to be organized), but 
trades must be taught with the theory necessary 
for their promotion. Here shall be formed excel- 
lent foremen for our factories." 

As a result the school of Compiegne was re- 
organized in 1803 ; and in 1806, owing to the 
increase in the number of its pupils, it was re- 
moved to more commodious premises in Chalons- 
sur-Marne. In 1803 a similar school was opened 
in Beaupreau, which was transferred, in 181 5, to 
Angers. In 1843, a third of these schools was 
started in Aix, and a fourth has recently been 
established in Lille. 

There is no more interesting chapter in the 
history of French technical education than that 
which relates the development of these schools. 
At the outset, in the school of Compiegne, pupils 
were admitted at the age of eight, and until twelve 
they were taught reading, writing, the elements of 
French grammar, arithmetic (the four rules and 
fractions), and the elements of geometry and 
drawing. Then followed descriptive and machine 
drawing, and, for the brighter pupils, mechanics. 

185 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

There were five different kinds of workshops in 
the school. There appears to have been no fixed 
length to the course of studies, some of the boys 
remaining even ten years. Without tracing these 
schools through all the political changes which 
affected them, we need only notice that in 1832 
the upper and lower limits of age were placed at 
fifteen and seventeen respectively. At the same 
time it was decreed that a competitive examina- 
tion should be held for admission. From 1885 
onwards the course of studies in these schools was 
gradually widened and raised to a higher level. 
But in spite of the very high standard which they 
had attained, it was again repeated, in a decree of 
1899, that the object of these schools was "to train 
workmen capable of becoming the heads of work- 
shops, and manufacturers versed in the practice of 
the mechanical arts." Once more in the official 
account of these schools we find the same insist- 
ence on the practical aim of the education they 
should afford, and evidence of the same desire to 
discourage ambition which may lead the pupils 
into paths which are already overcrowded. Having 
pointed out that the distinguishing feature of these 
schools is manual instruction in the workshop, to 
which not less than six hours a day is devoted, 
this account proceeds as follows : — " Thanks to 
such a training, followed for three years, there 
is not a certificated pupil of the Ecoles Nationales, 

186 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Mdtiers. 

whether he be a fitter, pattern-maker, founder, or 
smith, who cannot boldly take his place in a work- 
shop, and, after a short time, honourably gain his 
living there." 

It is then stated that all the * best inspired " 
of the pupils follow such a course on leaving 
the schools, and that this tendency is strongly 
encouraged by the authorities. Hopes are held 
out that in this way the instruction which the 
pupils have received will enable them to pass 
rapidly through all the grades of the army of 
work, and justifies them in aspiring to the highest 
situations in the industrial world. 

As might be expected, these schools are under the 
control of the Minister of Commerce. Their teachers 
are all carefully selected, professional preparation 
being insisted on as in the case of other schools 
in France. At one time day pupils were admitted, 
now they take boarders only. No candidate is 
admitted to the competitive examination for 
admission unless he is of French nationality, and 
not less than fifteen or more than seventeen years 
old. It is significant that, after 1903, no one will 
be admitted who does not hold the leaving cer- 
tificate of a higher primary school, or of a practical 
school of industry. As a compensation for these 
increased demands, the upper limit of age will be 
raised by nine months. The object of this new 
regulation is to ensure a higher attainment of 

187 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

general culture among the candidates for admission, 
it having been found here, as generally elsewhere, 
that where examination is alone employed as a 
test it often fails in its object, and encourages 
"cramming" at the expense of proper education. It 
may be inferred from this new regulation, that it is 
not desired that the pupils in these schools should 
have passed through any stage of secondary educa- 
tion. This is not surprising when it is remembered 
that the tendency in France is, as has already 
been stated, to discourage the children of the lower 
commercial and industrial classes from attending 
the secondary school. 

r 

The popularity of the Ecoles Nationales d'Arts 
et Metiers may be judged from the fact, that, in 
1899, no less than 1348 candidates presented 
themselves at the competitive examination for 
300 vacant places. The time-table on pp. 190, 191 
will show the nature of the work in these schools. 

It will be seen that Table A represents only 
the theoretical side of the instruction. Classes of 
industrial hygiene, and moral and civic instruction, 
have recently been added. 

The practical instruction is carried on in four 
workshops, viz. the fitting-shop, the smithy, etc., 
the pattern-shop, and the foundry. On entering 
the school the pupils are divided among these 
different workshops. It is found that, taking into 
account the needs and the preferences of the boys 

188 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

themselves, out of one hundred new pupils, seventy 
enter the fitting-shop, and the rest are divided 
equally among the others. At the end of the 
third year, each lad is required to spend a certain 
time in that workshop which is most closely con- 
nected with the one in which he has been receiving 
instruction ; for instance, the fitters pass into the 
smithy, and the pattern-makers to the foundry. 
Six hours a day is devoted to manual instruction. 
The British Technical Instruction Commissioners, 
in their Report of 1884, gave the following account 
of the work they found going on in the Chalons 
school : — 

" In the fitting-shop, which is divided into three 
sections, one of which corresponds with each year 
of training, there is a large stock of plant, an 
engine and boiler, which the other students manage 
in turn for a week each, as stoker and driver, and 
a tool-store from which the necessary tools are 
issued ; the students make squares, compasses, vices, 
etc. In the second year, they pass on to detached 
portions of machinery, and make small simple 
machines. In the third year, they are employed in 
the production of machines either for actual use 
in the school, or for sale outside. The school, 
in undertaking contracts for work, will not bind 
itself to deliver at a given date, and therefore does 
not compete with any manufacturing establish- 
ment. 

" The foundry contains three cupolas, one of 
which serves for heavy castings ; among the objects 
cast, are headstocks, and beds for lathes, and 
frames for spinning-machines. At the time of 

189 



ECOLES NATIONALES 
A. — Arrangement of 



First Year. 1 


Second 




First Half-year. 


Second Half-year. 


First Half-year. 




a S 




V C. 




c 






£ 9 




JD O 




*° S 




Subject. 


| 3 


Subject- 


Num 
of less 


Subject. 


^ 




Algebra . 


2>> 


Geometry . 


6 


Descriptive 






Geometry . 


24 


Descriptive 




geometry 


7 




Descriptive 




geometry 


17 


Kinematics 




28 




geometry 


16 


Higher 




Physics 




18 




Literature 


16 


mathematics 


10 


Chemistry 




18 




Technology . 


16 


Cosmography, 
sur v e y i n g, 




Literature 
Geography . 




10 
8 








and levelling 


14 


Technology 




17 








Trigonometry 


20 












Literature 


16 












Technology . 


17 








Total 


97 


Total 


100 


Total 


106 




Total for first ye 


ar : 197 lessons. 




Total for second 



General Total for the 



B. — Division 

Every Week-day. — 5.30, Rise. 5. 50, Recreation. 6, Pre- 
9.30, Workshop. 12, Dinner. 12. 20, Recreation. 1.30, Drawing. 
Preparation. 8.45, Recreation. 9, Bedtime. 

Sunday. — 6.30, Rise. 6.50, Recreation. 7 to 8, Preparation 
9.30 to 12, Recreation. 12, Dinner. 1 to 5, Walk. 5 to 5.45, 
8, Bedtime in winter ; 9, Bedtime in summer. 

190 



D'ARTS ET METIERS. 
Classes for the Year. 



Year. 


Third Year. 


Second Half-year. 


First Half-year. 


Second Half-year. 






u « 




>-• 2 




u 2 






1) c 




1) G 




u G 






,£> O 




,Q O 




Ji 




Subject. 


Id 


Subject. 


§ 8 


Subject. 


G £ 

5*8 




Kinematics . 


33 


Mechanics 


S4 


Mechanics 


49 




Physics 


17 


Electricity 


18 


Electricity 


4 




Chemistry 


16 


Literature 


7 


Metallurgy 


12 




Literature 


9 


History 


10 


French . 


7 




Geography . 


8 


Industrial 




History 


10 




Technology . 


17 


book - keep- 
ing, indus- 
trial economy 
and geo- 
graphy 

Elements of 
industrial and 
commer c i a 1 
law . r 


12 

5 


Indus trial 
book - keep- 
ing, indus- 
trial economy 
and geo- 
graphy 

Elements of 
industrial and 
commercial 
law 


11 

5 




Total 


100 


Total 


106 


Total 


98 


year : 206 lessoi 


is. 


Total for tl 


lird year : 204 lessons. 



three years : 607 lessons. 



of Time. 



paration. 7.30, Breakfast. 7-45> Recreation. 8 to 9.30, Class. 
3.15, Workshop. 7, Supper. 7.20, Recreation. 7.30 to 8.45, 

(drawing). 8, Breakfast. 9, Preparation or devotional exercises. 
Recreation. 5.45 to 7, Preparation. 7, Supper. 7.30, Recreation. 



IQI 



r 

Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Mdtiers. 

our visit they were at work on a casting weighing 
30 cwt. 

" The smithy has eight forges. Two students 
work at each, and take it in turns to act as smith 
and striker. Among the articles made are vices, 
screw presses, copying presses, etc. 

"The pattern-shop has places made for one 
hundred students : it is well provided with tools, 
and admirably arranged. Patterns are made for 
lathe-headstocks, beds for lathes and planing 
machines, driving-pullies, etc." 



At the end of each year an examination is held 
for admission to the succeeding year's course. 
This admission is not granted to any pupil who has 
not obtained at least eleven-twentieths of the total 
number of marks, and not less than six-twentieths 
in any particular subject. The marks awarded in 
these intermediate examinations go to decide the 
position occupied by the pupils on leaving the 
school. Those who pass the leaving examination 
obtain the title of " certificated pupil of the Ecoles 
Nationales d'Arts et Metiers" The pupil who 
comes out first at the end of the course receives a 
gold medal. Those whose general average of 
marks is not less than fifteen out of twenty, and in 
no particular subject less than eleven out of twenty 
receive silver medals. The first fifteen pupils, who, 
due allowance being made for their military service, 
within two years after leaving the school, spend a 
year in an industrial workshop, receive a prize of 

192 



Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers. 

£$o. The total fees, including boarding, are about 
£38 a year. There are, however, numerous scholar- 
ships. The number of pupils per school does not 
exceed three hundred. The total expenses of the 
three schools of Aix, Angers, and Chalons amount 
to more than ^"52,000 a year. 

In relation to what has been said of the checks 
to social ambitions provided by such schools as 
those under consideration, it may be noted that 
a certain number of pupils proceed hence to the 
Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures* They 
thus avoid the secondary school altogether. As 
a result, it is found that they experience con- 
siderable difficulty at the outset with the theoretical 
work in the Ecole Centrale. Being picked pupils, 
they surmount this difficulty in a short time. The 
discipline in these schools is marked by the same 
rigour, and there is the same absence of sports and 
physical amusements as is to be found in most 
French boarding-schools. The custom of wearing 
school uniforms is also maintained. 

Those who search in France for a well- 
organized and clearly defined system of schools 
under State control will experience difficulty in 
discovering the exact place filled in such a 
system by some of the technical schools. Those, 
for instance, of the type of the National Prac- 
tical School for workmen and foremen at Cluny 

* See p. 196. 
193 



The School at Cluny. 

would seem at first sight to be unnecessary. It 
is, at any rate, instructive — as again showing the 
pains taken by the French nation to check over- 
weening ambition — to read the explanation of the 
need of this school offered by the Minister of 
Commerce to the French Parliament in 1891. He 
stated that the Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers 
had so extended their programme, in response to 
the increased demands of industry, that they could 
no longer claim merely to train the non-com- 
missioned officers of the industrial army. There 
was still, however, a need to train foremen, in the 
strictest sense of the word. A series of institutions 
was therefore necessary which would fill the place 
formerly occupied by the Ecoles d' Arts et Metiers. 
Further, he said that these schools had created a 
new class of divoyes mid dec/asses. They refused 
admission every year to a number of boys who had 
passed the entrance examination, but for whom 
they were unable to find room. And, moreover, 
a number of those who were admitted were found, 
after beginning their studies, to be unable to 
continue them beyond a certain point, owing to the 
weakness of their former education. Such weak- 
ness cannot always be detected by examination. 
The Minister calculated that this class numbered 
about three hundred every year. 

The chief differences between the Cluny school 
and the Ecoles d'Arts et M tilers are, first, the lower 

194 



Technical High Schools. 

fees, which here are about ^34 a year ; secondly, 
the lower standard of knowledge demanded at the 
entrance examination ; and thirdly, the greater 
number of hours given to manual training in the 
course of instruction. It is impossible, before turn- 
ing to the higher technical schools in France, to do 
more than mention the two National Schools of 
Watch and Clockmaking at Cluses and Besancon. 
In France, as in Germany, there are technical 
High Schools of university rank. Such institu- 
tions may be said to be distinguished from the 
universities only in that they provide a special 
education, based on a general secondary educa- 
tion, either modern or classical, for industrial 
and commercial occupations, while the latter 
provide a special education, based on classical 
secondary education, for the learned professions. 
Such schools are far removed from the necessity 
of placing any checks on ambition ; the men and 
women for whom they provide education have 
already proved themselves capable of entering upon 
any career which is open to the highest merit. It is 
these schools for which the need has not yet been 
fully recognized in England. Starting from the 
bottom, we seem at last to be nearing that stage in 
the development of our educational system where 
an attempt may be made to raise such schools on 
the foundations already laid. In France and Ger- 
many, on the other hand, as soon as the need for 
14 195 



Ecole Centrale. 

such schools was recognized they were created, and 
the schools of a lower grade were remodelled, if it 
was necessary, so as to supply the higher institutions 
with properly prepared pupils. But the people of 
these two countries perceived that a sound general 
secondary education — rather than preliminary in- 
struction in any special branches of knowledge — 
was the only reliable basis for all education of 
university grade ; and it was for this reason that 
they were able to carry on these schools success- 
fully, at a time when we were trying to supply 
their place by educational " short cuts," dear to the 
practical, or rather utilitarian, minds of the last 
generation and its predecessor in England. These 
technical High Schools may be divided into two 
distinct classes : industrial and commercial. The 
oldest are the industrial High Schools. 

The Ecole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures is 
as well known to any Frenchman as the most 
famous of his universities. It was founded through 
private initiative in 1829. One of the chief reasons 
advanced for establishing such an institution was 
the need of training a body of engineers (in the 
more restricted and higher French sense of the 
term) who could rival those to be found in England. 
Having survived the political tumult of the next 
quarter of a century, the school had attained such 
a height of success in 1857 that * ts P u pils numbered 
475, and it made a nett annual profit of ^"3560. 

196 



Ecole Centrale. 

At this period the fees were ^32 a year. The 
director of the school, who had supplied the funds 
necessary for its establishment, now presented it 
as it stood to the State. He refused the offer of a 
million francs from former pupils for the purpose 
of placing it under the control of a private company. 
The only return he demanded from the State, 
besides pensions for his collaborators, was the 
promise that the profits should in the future be 
devoted to the interests of the school. 

The need had now become imperative for more 
suitable buildings than those in which it was 
located, and in 1884 it was removed to the 
magnificent quarters which it now occupies. From 
the profits accruing since 1857 the school itself was 
able to contribute no less than £7 1,680 to the cost 
of the new building ; the town of Paris contributed 
£40,800 in the form of a reduction on the price of 
the land which it sold to the State. The total cost 
of the new establishment was about ,£431,554. 
Owing to the great expense thus incurred it was 
considered advisable to raise the fees to £36 for the 
first year's course, and £40 for that of each of the 
two succeeding years. From this time onwards 
the school has continued to prosper, and the number 
of pupils has slightly increased. 

One of the first actions of the State after taking 
over the Ecole Centrale was to establish a com- 
petitive entrance examination. Hitherto the 

197 



Ecole Centrale. 

secondary schools had generally decided which of 
the pupils leaving them were worthy of admission 
to the Ecole Centrale. The new regulations now 
obliged many of the secondary schools to create 
special classes, resembling in some respects the 
army classes in our public schools, to prepare for 
this entrance examination.* The change is said 
to have resulted in raising the standard of attain- 
ments. Each year about 240 pupils were admitted. 
Both Frenchmen and foreigners are admitted, but 
since 1870 the number of foreigners attending 
the school has been reduced to a negligible 
quantity. 

The difficulty presented by the exigencies of 
military service for the great majority of the young 
men attending the Ecole Centrale is surmounted in 
the following manner. On entering the school 
they enlist for four years, and during the three 
years, in which they pursue their studies, they 
receive, in the school, military instruction accord- 
ing to official regulations. On leaving the school 
they have, therefore, only one year to serve, and 
having received special preparation for an officer's 
examination, they generally serve this year as 
second-lieutenants in the reserve, generally in 
an artillery regiment. 

None of the students in the Ecole Centrale are 
boarders, but they spend the entire day in the 

* Cf. Table facing p. 170. 
I98 



Ecole Centrale. 

school. Work begins at 8.30 a.m. During the 
morning there are two classes of an hour and a 
half each. At noon lunch is taken in a restaurant 
on the premises. From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. there is 
laboratory work, drawing, etc. From 4 p.m. to 
6 p.m., on most days, military drill, or classes on 
military art are held. 

The fundamental principle of all the teaching is 
that enunciated by the founders of the school, in 
the saying: "The science of industry is one and 
indivisible ; every manufacturer or leader of 
industry must know it in its entirety or remain 
unequal to his task." Accordingly all the students 
follow the same course of studies. Towards the 
end of the second year, it is true, they are divided 
into four classes, according as they intend to 
specialize in mechanics, engineering, mining and 
metallurgy, or chemistry. But even then speciali- 
zation is reduced to a minimum, all the students 
still following all the classes while studying the 
special application of science to their own particular 
branch. It is considered in France that, owing 
to thus emphasizing the need of a general know- 
ledge of the different branches of industry, the 
school has been successful in preparing students 
who have distinguished themselves in every depart- 
ment of industrial activity. 

At the end of the third year, after having passed 
through the whole course, the student enters for 

199 



fecole Centrale. 

the diploma. To obtain this he has to compose 
a thesis or "project" on the special one of the four 
branches which he has selected. In 1884, the 
British Technical Instruction Commissioners stated 
in their report that they " inspected several of the 
theses of the outgoing students of former years, 
in each of the (above) departments, and were much 
struck with the detailed character of the work, 
and especially with the completeness of the draw- 
ings. The students are allowed to work at home, 
but have to produce the calculations, descriptions, 
and drawings, within one month from the time at 
which the subject is given out, and the whole work 
is carefully examined by a council of professors, the 
student being examined on the details of his theses." 

The Commissioners, however, submitted another 
of these theses to a well-known English manufac- 
turer, who considered that, among other defects, it 
showed a want of knowledge of the practical con- 
ditions of manufacture. Such a knowledge the 
student is, of course, intended to acquire when he 
actually enters industrial life. And the success in 
life of the pupils in the Ecole Centrale proves that 
they lose nothing by continuing their theoretical 
education beyond the age at which we believe that 
facts and practical conditions can alone supply 
useful training. 

As showing how the peculiar conditions of its 
national life will influence each people in the details 

200 



Ecole Centrale. 

and organization of its education, the following- 
anecdote is interesting. When I was visiting the 
Ecole Centrale, last year, the eminent director of 
the school explained to me the different reasons 
for insisting on general education in the sense 
explained above. Among other practical benefits 
to be derived from not specializing, he pointed 
to one which would certainly be overlooked by 
Englishmen. He said that it not infrequently 
happened that a student who entered life as an 
engineer, for instance, married the daughter of a 
manufacturer in one of the other three divisions 
of industry. But, having been trained in all four, 
the fortunate student had no difficulty in transfer- 
ring his abilities to that branch of industry favoured 
by his father-in-law — which he would be probably 
expected to do. Apparently the director thought 
that I showed signs of incredulity as to this appli- 
cation of the principle of inariages de convenance ; 
for, on meeting me in public one evening shortly 
after, he introduced me to a former student of the 
school, who related how he was just about to con- 
tract such a marriage. It was entirely due, he 
said, to his having passed through the general 
course of the Ecole Centrale that he was able to 
satisfy an essential condition of the bargain 
and renounce engineering in favour of chemical 
industry, in which branch his prospective father- 
in-law had built up a very successful business. 

201 



Ecole Centrale. 



The following tables in connection with the 
Ecole Centrale give interesting details : — 

I. 

Total number of pupils who have passed through the 

school (including those who left in 1899) 7950 

Former pupils actually alive 5830 

(Living in France 5°44 

] Abroad (at the end of 1898) 593 

Former pupils In Alsace _ Lorraine ( a t the end of 1898) 70 

(in Algiers and the French colonies .... 123 

II. 

A Student's Work. 





Travaux 
gra- 

plaques. 
Number 
of hours. 


Projets. 

Travaux 

pratiques. 

Number 

of hours. 


Classes. 


Examinations. 


Years. 


Number 

of lessons 

(i£ hours 

each). 


Number 
of hours. 


Special. 
Number 
of exami- 
nations. 


General. 
Number 
of exami- 
nations. 


1st Year 
2nd Year 
3rd Year 


432 

66 


99 
434 

467 


397 
390 
318 


596 

5S5 

477 


22 

23 
20 


IO 
IO 

7 


Total for 
3 years 


498 


1,000 


1,105 


1,658 


6 5 


27 



Before proceeding to consider the commercial 
schools of university rank, a few words may be 
said about an institution which can hardly be 
called a technical high school, but which has 
nevertheless exercised a very great influence on 
the development of trade and industry in France. 

202 



Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. 

The idea which is embodied in the Conservatoire 
National des Arts et Metiers was originally put 
forward by Descartes (i 596-1650). He proposed 
to build in certain public institutions various large 
halls for artisans, each of which should be devoted 
to the different trades. " In each of these halls 
there should be collections of the mechanical 
appliances necessary or useful for the arts to be 
taught there. Sufficient funds should be provided, 
not only for the cost of experiments, but also for 
supporting masters or professors, whose number 
should be equal to that of the arts to be taught. 
These professors should be proficient in mathe- 
matics and in physics, so as to be able to answer 
all the questions put to them by artisans, and to 
explain the reason of everything, and throw light 
on the new discoveries to be made in the arts." 

Such a project has now been realized. In 
1775, Vaucanson brought together, at his own 
expense, a public collection of machines, in- 
struments, and tools for the instruction of the 
working-classes. This has now developed into 
the famous Conservatoire. In 18 19, Louis XVIII. 
decreed that there should be established in this insti- 
tution free public instruction in the application of 
the arts and sciences to industry. For this purpose 
there were to be three courses of lectures, namely, 
lectures on Mechanics and Chemistry as applied 
to industry, and on Industrial Economy. In 1899, 

203 



Conservatoire National des 

lectures were given at the Conservatoire on the 
following subjects : Descriptive Geometry, Applied 
Mechanics, Civil Engineering, Applied Physics, 
Industrial Electricity, Industrial Chemistry, Metal- 
lurgy, Chemistry applied to the dyeing, ceramic 
and glass industries, Agricultural and Analy- 
tical Chemistry, Agriculture, Industrial Art, 
Spinning and Weaving, Political Economy and 
Industrial Law, Industrial Economy, Commercial 
Law and Social Economy. This list does not, 
however, represent permanent courses of lectures 
forming a complete curriculum. Some of them, 
it is true, must, from their very nature, be 
permanent ; others are created in order to give 
some illustrious savant an opportunity of making 
known his discoveries to the public, and are thus 
a means of bringing into touch with one another, 
to their mutual benefit, the genius of scientific re- 
search and the practical spirit of industry. 

It also happens occasionally that the practical 
needs of industry may afford a reason for sup- 
pressing one course in favour of another. For 
instance, this happened in the case of the lectures 
on agricultural engineering. The Council of 
Improvements, which regulate such matters for 
the Conservatoire, resolved that this course should 
be replaced by one on industrial art. This 
new course, which was started in 1889, has met 
with the greatest success. The needs of such 

204 



Arts et Metiers. 

a course are explained by M. Liebaut, of the 
Conservatoire, in a passage which may well be 
introduced here. He says — 

" It is on art that modern industry depends 
for increasing the worth and standard of its 
productions. It is on art also that the artisan 
depends for the means of exercising, with taste as 
well as intelligence, the craft by which he earns 
his living. There is thus throughout the whole 
world an imperative and irresistible need which is 
immediately evident in connection with what are 
ordinarily called 'art industries.' It is easy to 
show that the same need exists in the case of the 
other trades. In the workshop, where machines 
are constructed, the engineer does the planning 
and calculating ; he creates, so to say, the skeleton 
or frame. But he cannot succeed without the 
collaboration of a draughtsman, who has added 
to his natural gifts the manual skill necessary for 
giving to this frame the material covering which 
is best suited to each organ, and which at the 
same time combines the greatest strength with 
the greatest elegance ; his function it is to provide 
harmony, both of proportion and of the relative 
position of the different organs, as well as grace of 
outline and an equilibrium, which is not only real 
but also apparent, and therefore inspires confidence 
in spite of the manifestation of strength. In short, 
such a collaborator must be a man of taste and 
skill ; in other words, an artist. When we stand 
before his work we award him praise in the ex- 
pression which involuntarily rises to our lips : 
' what a beautiful machine ! ' Every work, in- 
deed, which, owing to the precision with which the 
ideas are carried out, owing to the harmony of its 

205 



Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. 

proportions, and the suitability of structure and form 
to the quality of material, owing, in short, to its 
execution, awakens in us the ideas of perfection, 
is a work of art. 

" Such a work is always costly . . . but it is 
here that industry steps in. By its economical 
methods of execution, it brings the work of art 
within reach of the public — not, indeed, without 
depriving it of its most precious qualities, such 
as originality, rarity, perfection of execution, and 
the stamp of the master-mind. But for all that, 
art industry, that is to say, the industry which 
seeks the aid of art to make all things more 
beautiful and more pleasing, whether it be our 
books, our homes, our dresses and adornments, or 
our furniture, such industry must be considered as 
an important factor in national life. 

" In France especially is it necessary to en- 
courage the development of this industry . . . for 
if France cannot manufacture as cheaply (as those 
nations whose soil is richer in raw material), it 
can at least manufacture products possessing the 
attractions of taste." 

In the laboratories of this institution some of 
the professors have, in the presence and with the 
collaboration of their pupils, made discoveries of 
the highest value to the world. The Conservatoire 
possesses eight such laboratories. The specifica- 
tions of all the patents which have expired are 
kept in its library. Prior to 1844 the number of 
such specifications was 12,489, but since that date 
the Conservatoire has received no less than 165,000. 
It has been impossible here to do more than give 

206 



Commercial Education. 

a few details of the work of this great institu- 
tion. A number of prizes and medals are given 
to attract workmen to its evening classes. 

There has in recent years been a good deal of 
discussion going on in England as to the need 
of commercial education. New causes in this 
country, as elsewhere, are always very popular 
among those persons who have failed to distinguish 
themselves in the ordinary paths of life. And 
while, doubtless, they do much to draw the atten- 
tion of the public to new and pressing needs, they 
also unfortunately often drown the voices of the 
men who are competent and willing to guide the 
nation along the safest path to the satisfaction 
of these needs. Such has been the case in con- 
nection with commercial education. And con- 
fusion has been rendered worse confounded by the 
want of organization in our educational system. 
In the turbulent chaos where so many rival 
interests are at work any new educational 
idea is welcome, as affording a new weapon for 
partisan strife. The time, therefore, has not yet 
come for defining the sphere of commercial 
education in England. Meanwhile, those who are 
in search of the truth about the matter cannot do 
better than study the definitions of this important 
branch of education which are offered by foreign 
countries. 

In the volumes dealing with French technical 

207 



Commercial Education. 

education, prepared for the Paris Exhibition of 
1900 by the Ministry of Commerce, such a defi- 
nition is given. M. Grelley, a distinguished 
authority on commercial education, to whom was 
entrusted the preparation of that section of these 
volumes which deals with the Ecoles Sperieures de 
Commerce, thus discusses the matter. He first of 
all complains that the expression "commercial 
education " is in itself misleading, for it would 
seem to suggest that it was possible to teach 
commerce, and that the school could turn out 
commercial men in much the same way as the 
universities produce bachelors of art or of science. 
He disposes of such an idea by pointing out that it 
would be absolutely impossible to find teachers who 
were capable of undertaking such a task. He 
takes as the basis of his definition the one adopted 
by the Congress on Technical Education held in 
Paris in 1889. He thus arrives at the following 
definition : — 

" The aim of technical education is the study of 
the arts and sciences, with a view to their appli- 
cation to commerce." * 

He then states the fact that there is no such 
thing as secondary commercial education. He 
admits that there may be primary commercial 
education of the professionel type ; but the only 

* " L'Enseignement Commercial a pour objet l'etude des arts et 
des sciences, en vue de leur application au commerce." 

208 



Commercial High Schools. 

other branch which he recognizes is that which is 
based on a sound general secondary education, by- 
preference the full classical course.* In Germany, 
as well as in France, it is said by many directors 
of technical high schools, that they find the students 
who have passed through the classical secondary 
school stronger in their mental development than 
those who have received a " modern education." 
We cannot, therefore, conclude that this preference 
is to be explained merely by the short-comings 
of French " modern " secondary education referred 
to on an earlier page. 

The Ecole Superieure de Commerce of Paris, the 
oldest of these commercial high schools, owes its 
establishment to private initiative. Opened in 1820, 
with sixty students, it enjoyed a brief but remark- 
able success. It was closed two years later, the 
chief cause of its failure being the impossibility of 
finding properly qualified teachers. It was, how- 
ever, restarted shortly afterwards by its original 
founder, and has endured, with varying fortune, 
until the present day. It originally bore the title of 
school of " commerce and industry," and, though the 
word industry was finally suppressed, the industrial 
element did not disappear from its programme. 
The French educationists have always recognized 
the fact that commerce and industry are inter- 
dependent, and that it is as essential that the 

* See Table facing p. 170. 
209 



Commercial High School of Paris. 

commercial man should be familiar with the methods 
and principles of industry, as that the manufacturer 
should not be ignorant of the conditions deter- 
mining the success of commerce. Without tracing 
its history under the guidance of successive directors 
— no less than four of whom seem to have been 
rewarded for their labours with sudden death — 
we may note one or two important points in the 
course of its development. 

About 1855 the director, Gervais de Caen, a 
man with remarkable gifts, decided that it was 
impossible to maintain proper discipline in the 
school if it received both day-boys and boarders. 
He therefore determined to make the institution 
a boarding establishment only. At this time the 
school was a great financial success. It is stated 
that in the four years between 1848 and 1852 one 
of the directors, who was a shareholder in the 
company which then managed the institution, had 
made enough money to buy out the other share- 
holders ; the capital of the company at the moment 
was £ 10,000. In 1869 the school was purchased 
by the Paris Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber 
agreed to pay on the spot to the family of the last 
director £4800 for furniture, school material, etc., 
and to lease the building for thirty years at £ 1000 
a year, with option of purchase within five years 
at £23,000. 

At this point the school was divided into three 

210 



Commercial High School of Paris. 

"counting-houses," as they were called. The first 
of these provided a preparatory course of one 
year's duration. The two succeeding " counting- 
houses" provided a course of a year each, and 
constituted the really higher commercial section 
of the institution. In 1876 the Chamber of Com- 
merce decided to offer travelling scholarships of 
£40 to those of the students who had written the 
best report on visits made, under the guidance of 
the director, to certain factories and coal-mines 
in the North of France. The holder of such a 
scholarship spent the summer holidays, directly 
after his third year at the school, studying, in one 
or more countries of Europe, some commercial 
question selected by the Chamber. 

In 1890 this institution was formally recognized 
by the State. The other schools similarly recog- 
nized, which were founded before 1889, are given in 
the table on p. 212, which also shows the number of 
students in the first and second years respectively 
in 1897. 

In the reorganization carried out after 1890 by the 
Minister of Commerce the division into " counting- 
houses " was done away with. It was decreed that 
all the commercial high schools should provide a 
two years' course of studies, but that they should 
also have a preparatory course of one year ; so 
that now the divisions are known as the preparatory 
year and the first and second normal years. In 
x 5 211 



Commercial High Schools. 

the Paris school the preparatory course consists of 
two sections : one for boys not less than fifteen 
years old, and the other for foreigners not familiar 
with the French language and French boys a year 
younger than those in the former section. All the 
schools hold a competitive entrance examination 
for the normal years, though the directors are 
themselves allowed to admit a certain number of 

ECOLES SUPERIEURES DE COMMERCE. 

Number of Students at the end of the School Year, 1896-7. 



Name of Institution. 


Founded. 


Students of 
the 1st Year. 


Students of 
the 2nd Year. 


Total. 


Ecole des Hautes 
Etudes Commer- 
ciales, Paris . . . 

Ecole Superieure 
de Commerce, 


l88l 

1884 

1874 
187I 
1872 
1872 


Il8 

63 

48 

60 
40 

78 
67 


128 

43 
31 

55 

43 

82 

57 


246 
I06 


Institut Commer- 
cial de Paris . . . 

Ecole Superieure 
de Commerce, 

Ecole Superieure 
de Commerce, 

Ecole Superieure 
de Commerce, 


79 
"5 

83 

160 


Ecole Superieure 
de Commerce, 


124 



Note. — Since 1889 similar schools have been founded in Lille, 
Rouen, Nancy, and Montpellier. 

212 



Commercial High Schools. 

pupils. These last cannot, however, obtain certifi- 
cates or diplomas. Candidates at these examina- 
tions must be at least sixteen years old. As is 
generally the case in France, the examination 
consists of both an oral and a written part. The 
following is the list of the subjects in which the 
candidates are examined, showing the proportion 
between the marks allotted to each. It is easy to 
calculate the actual marks which are given, as those 
which are represented by I are allotted 20 marks. 

Written Examination. 

Mathematics — 

Arithmetic 3 

Geometry I 

Algebra 4 

French — 

Composition 3 

Spelling I 

Writing I 

Modern Language (the candidate is allowed a dictionary) — 

Translation from 3 

Translation into I 

Oral Examination. 

Arithmetic 4 

Modern Language (Questions on a passage 

read and conversation) 4 

Chemistry 2 

Physics 1 

History . I 

As showing the importance which foreign coun- 
tries attach to the quality of education, it should 

213 



Commercial Higfh Schools. 



& 



be observed that as soon as the Ministry of 
Commerce obtained the right to control these 
schools, it set about revising their curricula with 
the aid of experts. It must not be imagined, as 
is often asserted by those Englishmen who have 
reasons for objecting to the State-control of 
education, that the State interfered to bring about 
absolute uniformity among all these schools ; as 
a matter of fact, but slight changes were introduced 
into the course of studies which they had planned 
independently. But at the same time, since their 
diplomas all carried the same privilege as to 
military service, it was incumbent on the State to 
see that in each case the diplomas represented the 
same standard of acquirements. Neither in France 
nor in Germany does that complete uniformity 
exist which is held up to us as one of the inevitable 
consequences of the State control of schools. If 
either of these countries ignored expert opinion, 
as we do in England, and allowed its schools to 
be directed by government clerks, no doubt all its 
schools would be hedged in with restrictions de- 
structive of variety or freedom of development. 
Each of them, however, holds its educational 
experts in esteem and submits to their influence. 
The following is the course of studies at the Ecole 
Superieure de Commerce in Paris : — 



214 



Diplomas. 

















73 


















<u 




a 
















u 


b/) 




it 


T3 








A! 

o 


_u 




bo 


3 


>> 


iT 




*d 


>> 


Subjects : 


o 
cs.5 


S 


Id 

s 

o 


bfl 
a 

a 

M 
<L> 


bjo 

a 
rt 
-1 
a 

M 

1) 


2 

bJO 
O 
4> 

O 
u 


a ."3 


« E 
.2 o 
rt o 

be" 


u 

E B 

•o-S 


o 

s 

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B 
6 
o 
CJ 


'o 

a 
a 
a 

s 


01 

O 


T3 
O 


o 

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o 
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o 
a 
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6 
o 


1— 1 o 

,-1 


a bo 
a <o 

a 

CJ 


0) 

S 

6 
o 
CJ 










CO 




CJ 








Hours ( 1st Year 


4h 


4* 


I* 


5 


3 


3 


2 








ii 


per < 






















week ( 2nd Year 


4 


4 


■■""■ 


5 


3 


3 


2 


2 


I 


• J 






<u 










































>> 


J3 
5 " 




















O i; 




















X) 3 


2 3 




t/5 
















l> 13 


-£-d 




_o 
















u: c 


H o 


^ 


'35 


t/5 




>. 


W) 








a>-t 


« «" 


bo 


P*. 


o 




rQ 


til 




Subjects : 


si 


o iS 

0) 


O 

"o 
a 

-a 
o 
<u 

H 


"a 
< 


'S 

u 


u 
a 

u 


ii 
bo 
O 

a 

CO 


P. 


.5 


en 

O 

H 






Q 


















Hours [ist Year 


I* 


ii 





l£ 





2 


I 


If 


2 


36 


per I 






















week (2nd Year 


I* 


i* 


I 


IJ 


r* 


~~ 


~ 


ii 


I 


35 



There are two grades of diplomas and one 
certificate, which may be obtained by students 
who have been through the whole course. The 
final examination is entirely oral, as is also the 
examination which must be passed in order to 
enter the second year of studies. Two points 
should be noticed in connection with the examina- 
tions for the diploma. First, the director of the 
school and at least one of the professors are 

215 



The Examination Test. 

inembers of the Examination Board. Secondly, 
the diploma is not awarded on the result of the 
final examination alone. 

It has been found in France, as we are at 
last beginning to discover in England, that an 
examination held at a given moment, however 
carefully it be carried out, cannot properly test 
the standard of acquirements attained by the can- 
didate. It is true that in France, where the 
majority of schools are inspected by the State, 
a great deal may be done to check that growth 
of a "cramming" system which is the not un- 
natural consequence of the examination test. But 
it would be surprising, when a boy's or girl's future 
is made to depend solely on the answers given 
on a fixed day to either written or oral questions, 
if parents were not willing to give every encour- 
agement in their power to those enterprising 
persons who invent ways — generally traversing 
every scientific law of education, it is true — of 
preparing their children for the demands of that 
fateful day, and that day alone. But even sup- 
posing that cramming could be suppressed, the 
French authorities deem it unfair to grant these 
diplomas on the result of one examination alone. 
Consequently, in addition to the marks which are 
obtained at this final examination, those which 
have been awarded to the student through- 
out his whole course of studies are counted as 

216 



The Examination Test. 

part of the final total deciding his right to the 
diploma. 

It is, however, evident that the relative value of 
marks obtained in the examinations at the end 
of the first and second years respectively needs 
careful calculation. And it is, from an English 
point of view, extraordinary with what care this 
delicate problem is solved by the French educa- 
tional experts. The system of marks which they 
have built up is complicated. For instance, in 
the final result the marks obtained by the 
candidate in book-keeping at the intermediate 
examination are multiplied by 3, and those 
obtained at the final examination are multiplied 
by 11. The same precise grading of relative 
values is worked out for each subject. We may, 
indeed, learn much from the methodical and 
scientific manner in which the French have 
attempted, in this- instance, to overcome the in- 
evitable evils of the examination test. 

It is certain that this could not have been done 
unless they had been willing to allow the educa- 
tional expert to have a decided voice in the matter. 
We, on the other hand, mistrust him, and prefer 
that regulations as to examinations should be 
made, in the vast majority of cases, by those who 
have had no experience in teaching the class 
of candidates to be examined. The foreigner 
must often be astounded when he perceives how 

217 



The Examination Test. 

implicitly we trust to examinations as a test of every 
kind of qualification for every possible situation ; 
for such an instrument as the examination cannot 
be used with satisfactory results by a people who 
have so great a faith in the rule of thumb, and 
who regard with suspicion and resentment any 
improvements in this instrument which would 
deprive it of that simplicity that can alone make 
it intelligible to the " man in the street." Were 
the State in England to allow the expert to so 
improve this instrument as to render it capable 
of testing with scientific accuracy, in other words, 
were it to attempt to build up such a system of 
examinations as that just described, it would have 
to face a storm of protest from the people, who at 
present do no more than grumble harmlessly at 
the evils of the existing system. It might, there- 
fore, at a time when we are all deploring the 
absence of the spirit of method among the British 
people, be wise to ask ourselves if we are really 
capable of using the examination test, and if it 
does not, in fact, do little more than bestow a 
democratic sanction on the rule of thumb, which is 
the only scientific deduction that has been made 
from a long succession of muddles. 

One of the privileges carried by the diploma of 
these commercial schools is the remission of two 
out of three years of compulsory military service. 
But the somewhat extraordinary condition is made 

218 



French Regulations. 

that only the first four-fifths, in order of merit, of 
the successful candidates are granted this privilege. 
The remaining fifth obtain a second diploma 
without the privilege. It is necessary to gain 
65 per cent, for the higher diploma. A certificate 
is given to candidates obtaining not less than 
55 per cent, of the maximum marks. 

Certain regulations have been made as to 
attendance at examinations, which show again 
how impossible it is to form a fair appreciation 
of foreign education without being thoroughly 
familiar with foreign life. It was discovered that 
just before the intermediate examination some of 
the students absented themselves for a day or two 
in order to "cram up" at the eleventh hour. Others, 
who did not feel ready to undergo the written 
examination, and still less prepared to face the 
oral test, arrived late on various excuses, and 
requested to be examined after their fellow- 
students. A ministerial decree was therefore 
issued, stating the five excuses which would alone 
be accepted for such non-appearance. They are — 
certified illness ; death of a relative in the line of 
direct ascent, or of a brother or sister ; attendance 
at the funeral of an uncle or aunt ; attendance 
at the marriage of a brother, sister, or relative in 
the line of direct ascent ; and appearance for 
various reasons before the military authorities. 
There are few English authorities who would 

219 



Scholarships. 

venture under these circumstances to draw such 
inflexible lines of demarcation in the sphere of 
the family affections. 

In 1896 the direct maintenance grant of the 
Government to these schools amounted to no more 
than ^400 ; since then it has ceased altogether. 
The Ministry of Commerce, however, gives every 
year six scholarships to those candidates whose 
parents cannot afford to pay the whole or part 
of the school fees. The financial position of the 
parents of such students must be certified by the 
mayor of the commune in which they reside. A 
competitive examination is held for these scholar- 
ships. Other scholarships are also awarded ; in 
Paris, for instance, seven are provided for day- 
boarders by the Chamber of Commerce. 

The Paris school moved into its new quarters in 
1898. The buildings which it now occupies cover 
2500 square metres, in addition to a playground 
which measures 3000 square metres. It now 
numbers 250 pupils, including both boarders and 
day-boarders. The total fees for boarders, apart 
from the cost of books, etc., are about £87 a year. 
The obligatory fees for day-boarders are about 
£41. Mr. M. E. Sadler thus describes the new 
buildings, which he visited in 1897: "This institu- 
tion comprises a residential section as well as pro- 
vision for day-students, and also a junior or prepara- 
tory department, which is entirely separated from 

220 



f f 

Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales 

the higher school itself. There is a fine museum 
of commercial products, an ample and beautiful 
library, a laboratory, two large lecture-theatres, a 
number of lecture-rooms, dining-rooms, as well as 
the dormitories, sanatorium, etc., which belong to 
the Hall of Residence, as we should perhaps call it 
in England. All this admirable provision is due to 
the liberality of the Paris Chamber of Commerce, 
which has distinguished itself by its devotion to the 
cause of commercial education." 

The Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales is of 
a slightly higher grade than the above-mentioned 
institutions. Many people maintain that the 
difference is not sufficient to justify the two types 
being classified as distinct grades. It is important, 
however, to notice that in 1894 the Minister of 
Commerce decreed that there should be established 
in this school a normal section for the training of 
commercial teachers. No candidate is admitted to 
the competitive entrance examination to this sec- 
tion who is not at least twenty years old. In 
1899 there were 383 students in this school, which 
differs from the Ecoles Super ieitres'm that it admits 
day-students. 

Perhaps no country is so well provided as France 
with universities and educational institutions pro- 
viding scientific instruction of the highest order, 
some of which are supported by the Government 
for the education of those who are to be employed 

221 



Tendencies of French Education. 

in the service of the State. They fall outside the 
scope of the present work, in which it is attempted 
only to give a brief sketch of what is being done 
for the education of those who are directly engaged 
in carrying on trade and industry. It is, however, 
true that a number of students from these institu- 
tions find their way into industry ; and, even if it 
were not so, the influence which these schools 
exercise directly and indirectly over the develop- 
ment of industry is of the greatest benefit to the 
nation. Certainly more is done in such French 
institutions to encourage original research than in 
our universities. 

One can open few modern French books on the 
subject of education without finding passages in 
which great emphasis is laid on the need of pro- 
viding checks on the too common desire to enter 
what are termed the learned professions. This 
negative function of education, if it may so be 
called, has assumed almost greater importance in 
the eyes of a large number of French educationists 
than the normal function of the promotion of the 
best interests of industry or commerce. Judging 
from the works of contemporary writers on educa- 
tion, one would think that the burning question in 
France at the present moment was how the school 
may stop the rapid increase of dtvoyes and de- 
classis. According to them, at any rate, general 
education — in the sense of the encouragement of 

222 



Tendencies of French Education. 

natural development, mental, moral, and physical — 
has failed when universally adopted. Whether the 
teachers have been at fault they do not say. But 
this explanation would not certainly be admitted 
by any foreigner who has had the privilege of 
seeing the French teachers at work. Probably in 
no country in the world has the teaching profes- 
sion attained to such a high standard of skill 
and to such a pitch of devotion. For his brilliancy 
of expression, scientific delicacy of touch — if the 
term may be used — and tenderness of sympathy, 
the French teacher is unequalled. Neither is he 
behind those of any other land in his love of 
country and his admiration of national language 
and literature. If any teachers could have suc- 
ceeded in carrying out all that was best in the 
educational theories of Rousseau, surely it was the 
French. If they have failed, it is due to the innate 
and ineradicable characteristics of their pupils. 
Among these characteristics not the least strongly 
marked is social ambition — the heritage of that 
irresistible movement which was to bring about 
social equality, not on the basis afforded by taking 
the average between the highest and the lowest, 
but on the level of the highest. It is owing to 
this that France has found herself overrun with 
d^classis and devoyes. 

The school, then, has to catch those who are 
inclined to pursue ambitions which they have 

223 



Tendencies of French Education. 

little chance of satisfying, and put them on the 
path which leads to contentment. This was most 
easily and surely achieved by spreading a net of 
technical education over the primary schools. 
The educational ladder of which we have heard 
so much in England had to be broken down, and 
probably in no country is there now so little con- 
nection between the higher and lower branches 
of education. The teachers, it is true, with to a 
certain extent the sympathy of the Ministry of 
Public Instruction, have fought against this move- 
ment. And it is to be traced to their influence 
that the purely educational aim has in any degree 
been maintained in the higher primary system, 
and that scholarships have been provided at the 
secondary schools for those talented children of 
poor parents who are able to profit from the instruc- 
tion and education which they offer. But the pluto- 
cratic influence, which has always been thrown into 
the scale against them, has turned the balance in 
favour of the policy adopted by the Ministry of 
Commerce. The technical net is ever being 
widened and strengthened. In its main features 
the system which is growing up, and in a great 
measure already exists, may be shortly described 
as follows. From the primary school those chil- 
dren who are not forced immediately to earn their 
own living proceed to the higher primary school, 
with its technical tendencies, or to the practical 

224 



Tendencies of French Education. 

schools of commerce and industry, which may be 
regarded as purely technical. From thence, if 
they continue their education still further, they 
pass into the Ecoles Nationales d'Arts et Metiers, 

The strife between the technical and the purely 
educational idea is still being waged around the 
children of the poorer classes. It may safely be 
said that this struggle will decide the moral fate, 
and therefore the material prosperity, of France. 
It is fortunate for us that social conditions have 
not yet appeared which give us any cause for 
spreading the net to catch soaring ambitions. 
Where it has been done it has not been due to any 
conscious design. A few earnest educationists in 
g our midst, with a preference for France often to be 
traced to their ignorance of the German language, 
.have visited the French schools, and not fully 
appreciating the causes underlying their develop- 
ment, have returned to England to persuade eager 
authorities to adopt the French line of progress. 
But the results that have followed cannot last ; for 
they lack that vital force which can alone be sup- 
plied by national needs or irresistible national 
tendencies. 

Before concluding that the French system is the 
natural outcome of democracy, it is wise to give a 
thought to what is being done in the schools of 
that other great exponent of democracy which is 
more nearly akin to ourselves. 

225 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE FOUNDATIONS LAID IN AMERICA. 

The great American Republic contains a popula- 
tion half as large again as that of the British Isles 
spread over an area nearly twenty-five times as 
great. The different conditions of political and 
social organization which such a comparison 
suggests must be borne in mind throughout a 
study of the American system of education. One 
other point must not be overlooked. The tie of 
kinship between the United States and England 
is undoubtedly strong ; it is true that there are 
common traits of character to be found in both 
peoples which must ever influence them, even if 
with decreasing force, to develop along parallel 
lines. But we are perhaps inclined in England to 
overrate the influence of our parentage on this 
great nation, just as we are inclined to exaggerate 
its influence on the younger colonies which we 
have planted. Speaking generally, it cannot be 
said that traces of our influence predominate in 
the actual development of American education. 
The Americans have, of course, a certain natural 

226 



American Variety. 

power of appreciating what is best in the educa- 
tional results which we have achieved. But when 
we have said that they have profited from our 
experiences, from our successes and our failures, 
we have probably stated the extent of their in- 
debtedness to us. As far as their actual system 
is concerned, they probably owe more to other 
nations than to the English. 

There is no national system of education in the 
United States of America of the kind which exists 
in Germany and in France ; that is to say, a 
system controlled and organized by the national 
Government. The history of the making of the 
United States would lead us, indeed, to expect 
to find the greatest possible variety of educa- 
tional organization. Even the early English 
colonists represented a number of different social, 
political, and religious views, all of which mani- 
fested themselves in the systems of schools which 
they founded. Some brought with them the 
English social prejudices of the time against the 
education of the lower orders — prejudices which 
in the mother land, however, did not prevent the 
man of talent from obtaining his rightful place in 
the aristocracy of intellect. We accordingly find 
some of the early colonists refusing to establish 
public schools. Berkeley, the Governor of Virginia, 
stated the policy of his colony in this matter in no 
uncertain or wavering terms. 
16 227 



American Variety. 

" I thank God," he said, " that there be no free 
schools nor printing-presses, and I hope we shall 
not have them these hundred years ; for learning 
has brought disobedience and heresy and sects 
into the world, and printing has divulged them 
and libels against the best of Governments : God 
keep us from both." 

On the other hand, the general court of Massa- 
chusetts passed a school law in 1647 providing 
that every township "of the number of fifty house- 
holds shall appoint one within their town to teach 
all such children as shall resort to him to write 
and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the 
parents or masters of such children, or by the 
inhabitants in general." This law further ordained 
that any town of one hundred householders " shall 
set up a grammar school, the master thereof being 
able to instruct youths so far as they may be fitted 
for the University." The Dutch colonists also 
seem to have fully appreciated the value of public 
education, though at the same time they adopted 
the undemocratic political organization of their 
mother-country. From these examples it will be 
seen that at the very outset the roots of variety 
were planted in America. But when once a 
people is possessed by a common national purpose 
certain limits will inevitably be placed on diversity 
within its system of education. The common 
national purpose appeared in America towards the 
end of the eighteenth century. 

228 



Growth of a National Purpose. 

Whatever were the causes of the Revolution of 
1776 — and they are still involved in a certain 
degree of mystery, which the historian may some 
day clear away — it was popularly hailed in America 
as the enfranchisement of the individual, and as 
the throwing off of oppressive restrictions to 
economic, social, and religious liberty. But the 
young nation did not at the outset realize how the 
democracy which it was building up must depend 
on education for its proper conduct and success. 
It was not until some forty years later that Daniel 
Webster pointed out, in the words quoted on an 
earlier page,* how education could alone fit a people 
to rule itself, and arm it with the power to resist 
that license and corruption which are no less 
dangerous when fed by liberty than when counte- 
nanced by and employed in the service of 
tyranny. But from this time onward we find a 
common national purpose pervading all public 
education in the United States. 

It is not a national purpose of the nature of 
that which we see dominating all others in Ger- 
many ; it is not directed towards the over- 
coming of foreign rivalry, for America has not 
in the past been obliged, like Germany, to fight 
for her existence against foreign competition ; 
it is rather manifested in a strong determina- 
tion to make a success of democracy, and to 

* See pp. 12 and 13. 
229 



Democracy and Education. 

enable the people to realize through self-govern- 
ment the highest possible form of national de- 
velopment. We can, therefore, trace in the 
educational progress of the past, no less than 
in that of the present, a determination to under- 
mine the forces of corruption which spring up 
like tares in the democratic field. No greater 
testimony has indeed been borne to the power of 
education than by the bitter strife which has been 
waged for its control between those endowed 
with a high moral ideal on the one hand, and 
those who wish to convert democratic liberty into 
license for selfish ends on the other. It can only 
be compared with the struggle between the State 
and the Catholic Church, which we see at present 
going on around the schools of France. 

American education has at one and the same 
time benefited and suffered from the democratic 
principle of self-government. For, if this principle 
is to be adhered to consistently, the people must 
be allowed to exercise free control over education, 
as much as over any other branch of public life 
which calls for collective action. When, therefore, 
public authorities have been appointed to provide, 
maintain, or supervise the schools, they have neces- 
sarily been of a popular character. America con- 
sequently offers an excellent example of the attempt 
of a people to educate itself. 

It may be immediately asked whether self- 

230 



Democracy and Education. 

education can prove a success in the case of 
nations any more than of individuals. It has 
been maintained throughout these pages that 
the work of education consists in guiding the 
individual towards a definite end in accordance 
with natural laws. Such education must be 
carried on by those on whom the individual 
depends during the period of his infancy. Con- 
sequently there are two parties to be considered. 
The one is in a position of dependence ; the other 
wields a supreme power, which, however, he can 
only exercise within the limits imposed by the 
natural laws of human development. If we con- 
sider the question in its collective aspects, as it 
affects the community, we must inquire in whom 
is this supreme power to be vested ? Logically, 
and without taking any political considerations 
into account, the answer will be : in the educators 
in their collective capacity. In an ideal State this 
indeed would be possible. Germany has more 
closely approximated to this ideal than any other 
nation. But in a democracy liberty is recognized 
not only as a negative freedom from all oppression, 
but as a positive freedom, allowed to each member 
of the community, of making his will felt as a force 
in the final resultant which decides the national 
destinies. This is allowed to him because demo- 
cracy is based on the assumption that such a final 
resultant is the most absolutely right, and that the 

231 



Democracy and Education. 

wills of individuals, directed by the knowledge 
they enjoy, must, in combination, form an average 
will which is infallible. Democracy is therefore 
obliged to admit the sanctity of individual know- 
ledge, and is in its very essence opposed to the 
controlling influence of the expert. 

But since it is impracticable that government 
should be carried on by the many, democracy is 
forced to strike a compromise between expediency 
and the fundamental principle on which it rests. 
By this compromise the work of government is 
entrusted to a few individuals ; not necessarily 
those who have risen by their superior ability to a 
position of supreme power, but those who are 
most likely to represent the average will. And if 
representation of the average will is the first con- 
sideration, it is evident that the control of no 
branch of national life will, unless by a mere 
coincidence, be vested in experts who have proved 
themselves to possess the greatest knowledge of 
that branch and to be the most competent to 
control it. Under such a form of government, 
consistently carried out, the infants of the nation 
will depend for their guidance on the average 
will of the adults. But the delicate machinery 
which can alone ensure such consistency has 
never yet been set up, or, if it has, it has imme- 
diately broken down under the strain of human 
passions. In practice the average will has 

232 



Democracy and Education. 

invariably been converted into the will of the 
majority. 

America has been no exception to this rule, and 
probably in no country has the veil been so ruth- 
lessly torn aside from the workings of human 
passion. In other countries, no doubt, government, 
of whatever form it has been, has from time to 
time been captured by those who place selfish 
interests before the common welfare ; but in no 
country has this been more terribly exposed to the 
view of all mankind. And thus it has been seen 
by all observers that the public authorities, which 
have controlled education, have often represented 
not the average will, but the feebleness of the 
weak and the selfishness of the evil combined to 
form a majority. The former have been unable to 
appreciate their responsibility with regard to that 
branch of national life which is, in a sense, the 
source of all others ; they have been ignorant of 
the very principles on which the proper conduct of 
education is based. The latter have known too 
well how education can be used to mould the 
rising generation to their own ends, and they have 
acted with a skill which is never wanting to the 
strength of evil. 

It is not intended ( for a moment to suggest 
that in all the State authorities and in all the 
city school boards of America weakness and 
corruption have been permitted to prevail. That 

233 



Democracy and Education. 

they have sometimes had the upper hand cannot 
be denied ; and that it has been so is, to a very 
great extent, the reason for the changes witnessed 
in the organization of public control, changes which 
have always followed a progressive line towards 
stronger and better and purer administration. 
Those who know America best, whether prejudiced 
in favour of, or without sympathy with, democratic 
forms of government, seem to be convinced that 
she is advancing steadily towards the realization 
of a noble ideal, and the consummation of a union 
between native strength and moral and aesthetic 
culture productive of the greatest benefits to the 
human race. 

America has seen that her future depends on 
her education, which can alone help her to coun- 
teract these evil influences. She has perceived 
it, from different causes it is true, no less clearly 
than Germany. As education is the source 
of all other branches of national life, so the 
teachers are, in a sense, the source of education. 
It has been the fortune of America to perceive 
this fact also; and she has had the wisdom to 
give more and more power to her teachers. They 
have responded nobly to the trust which their 
country has placed in them, and have joined issue 
with the forces of corruption, gradually driving 
them back from the positions in which they had 
entrenched themselves. In short, it may be said 

234 



Quality and Quantity. 

that the history of the recent development of the 
American educational system is concerned mainly 
with the struggle for the control of the schools, 
between the teachers and the experts on the one 
side, and the popularly elected representatives of 
the people on the other. 

As we have already seen, the countries which 
have achieved the greatest results in the promo- 
tion of trade and industry through education are 
those which have attached greater importance to 
the quality than to the quantity of their education ; 
those which have not only recognized the fact 
that education must take account of the other 
elements besides trade and industry in national 
prosperity, but which have, at the same time, 
perceived that the qualities which make the good 
citizen are precisely those which also make the 
successful tradesman or manufacturer. It would 
therefore appear that, in this connection, nothing 
is to be gained by regarding the practical demands 
of industry and commerce apart from their natural 
relation to all the factors in national welfare ; and 
that, not only in the section of education which 
is concerned with general development, but in 
those other branches which are devoted to special 
training, the general educational aim must not be 
ignored. 

There is, consequently, a twofold reason for 
entrusting the control of the schools to authorities 

235 



Organization of Public Control. 

presiding over wide areas. In the first place, 
there is the reason suggested by economy of 
effort. If a common purpose must underly 
all national education, it is a waste of power 
for a number of small bodies to undertake a 
task which can be performed at least as well 
by one body controlling a wide area. In the 
second place, the necessity of developing and 
encouraging the perception of the national pur- 
pose, of maintaining the supremacy of national 
interests, tells against the existence of authorities 
in which narrow local aims must necessarily 
overshadow all else. We consequently find in 
America a tendency to centralization in educa- 
tional control concurrent with the tendency to 
give greater power to the expert. 

At a time when the organization of educational 
control is rightly occupying so much attention in 
England, and when this organization is being 
carried out with every possible concession to 
democratic principles, it is useful to observe what 
is being done in this matter by the great demo- 
cratic Government on the other side of the Atlan- 
tic. More particularly, we should consider how 
far the public control which America has organ- 
ized for her schools has enabled her to establish 
firmly the educational foundations of her trade 
and industry. For with us the great incentive 
to the creation of new kinds of public control is 

236 



Organization of Public Control. 

the need for providing better technical and, per- 
haps, also secondary education ; or, to put it in 
other words, the real stimulus to educational 
activity is the desire, silent or expressed, to in- 
crease, or at least to ensure, our material pros- 
perity. 

The most democratic form of educational gov- 
ernment is to be found in the American " school 
district." In the old days of a scattered population, 
families used to combine to maintain a school 
which would provide education for their children. 
The extent of the school district was, therefore, no 
larger than would permit of all the children attend- 
ing the same school. Districts have indeed had 
legal existence which were composed of but one 
family. The government of the district is vested 
in all the voters, who meet at least once a year, 
and had originally full and complete control of 
the school system. The tendency during the first 
half of the nineteenth century was to make this 
thoroughly democratic system more perfect ; that 
of the latter half was towards greater centralization 
and uniformity. In a number of States the town- 
ship system has altogether supplanted the district 
organization. 

It is impossible to lay down any general rule as 
to the organization of educational government in 
the United States, for almost every possible variety 
is to be found. All that can be done is to point to 

237 



Tendency towards Centralization. 

general tendencies which are to be observed, and 
to the evident approximation towards one type 
which stands out more and more as the ideal which 
the whole country is striving, in spite of many 
obstacles, to attain. In the township system, for 
instance, we find different ways of electing the 
body in which the control of the schools is vested. 
In some it is chosen at annual town meetings ; in 
others central boards are appointed, the members 
being chosen by the electors of the sub-districts. 
But it is to the cities and the States that we must 
look to see the growth of the system which may 
gradually absorb all others. Here we may per- 
ceive a tendency towards centralization of control 
and a gradual approximation to one ideal type 
of organization. 

This is not the place to consider the increase 
and concentration of the population of the United 
States. It must, however, be noticed, as explain- 
ing many of the changes which have taken place in 
the control of education during the latter half of 
the last century, that, while in 1790 there was but 
one American city having between 8000 and 12,000 
inhabitants, in 1890 there were 147 cities of this 
size. In 1890 there were also fourteen cities with 
a population of from 75,000 to 125,000; and now 
there are at least twelve cities with a population of 
over 500,000. Conditions such as are suggested by 
these facts make impracticable those primitive 

238 



Tendency towards Centralization. 

forms of government described above. The States 
have, therefore, interfered and made new laws to 
meet these conditions. 

But when it is said that the States have 
interfered, it must be added that in the majority 
of cases it is the cities themselves which have 
taken the initiative and have drawn up laws 
which the State has done no more than sanc- 
tion — a mode of procedure which will recom- 
mend itself to the English advocates of local 
self-government. An advantage or disadvantage 
of this procedure is that, as a result, there is no 
one system of educational government common to 
all American cities. For instance, though the 
management of the schools is almost invariably 
vested in a city board, this board is constituted in 
apparently as many different ways as there are 
cities. In the majority of cases the boards are ad 
hoc authorities elected by the people ; but in many 
instances they are appointed by the mayor alone 
or by the mayor and city council jointly. In 
Philadelphia the board is appointed by the city 
judges, and in New Orleans by the State board of 
education. Buffalo forms a unique exception. In 
the monographs prepared for the American educa- 
tional exhibit at the Paris Exhibition of 1900 this 
organization is thus described : — 

"In the city of Buffalo, New York State, 
the school affairs are managed by a committee 

239 



Dangers of Democratic Control. 

appointed by the city council, but happily this case 
stands by itself, and the evil consequences possible 
under such a scheme have been much ameliorated 
in this particular case for the last half-dozen years 
by a most excellent superintendent of schools, 
elected by the people of that city." 

This special organization being of particular 
interest to English people at the present moment, 
it will be well to give some details as to the nature 
of the office filled by the superintendent of schools.* 
But before doing so a few words may be said in 
explanation of the evil consequences referred to in 
the above passage. The same authority remarks 
in connection with the way school affairs have been 
managed in the larger cities : — 

" In the smaller places — even in cities of a 
hundred thousand or more inhabitants — matters 
have gone well enough as a general rule, but in 
the greater cities there have been many and serious 
complaints of the misuse of funds, of neglect of 
property, of the appointment of unfit teachers, and 
of general incapacity, or worse, on the part of the 
boards. Of course, it is notorious that the public 
business of American cities has very commonly 
been badly managed. It would not be true to 
say that the business of the schools has suffered 
as seriously as municipal business, but it has cer- 
tainly been managed badly enough. . . . Men 
engaged in managing the organizations of the 
different political parties have undertaken to con- 
trol appointments in the interests of their party 
machines. And the downright scoundrels have 

* See p. 247. 
24O 



Autonomy of American States. 

infested the school organization in some places for 
the sake of plunder." 

One is prepared, after reading such an indict- 
ment, to learn that the powers of these city boards 
are very great. As a matter of fact, every possible 
function of control seems to be bestowed on them, 
from the appointment and promotion of teachers 
to the purchasing and selecting of new sites for 
schools. In only a very few cases, however, are 
they allowed to decide the amount of money which 
shall be raised for educational purposes. 

There is still one other feature which must be 
dealt with before turning our attention to the 
superintendents of schools. The public school 
system of America is now supported entirely by 
taxation. It therefore depends upon the exercise 
of a sovereign power. All sovereign powers 
have not been entrusted to the national Govern- 
ment ; some of them are retained by the States. 
The provision and supervision of schools, for 
instance, is a function of the State and not of the 
national Government. The vast extent of the 
territory under the national Government offers in 
itself an explanation for the autonomy of the 
States in educational matters. It is impossible, 
therefore, to draw any analogy in this respect 
between the English and the American systems, 
unless we compare the whole of England with one 
single State. 

241 



Attitude of National Government. 

When, therefore, we speak of the centralizing 
tendencies of American education, the term is used 
with reference to the State, and not to the general 
or national Government. Indeed, the general 
Government exercises no authoritative control over 
the educational institutions of the nation.* Start- 
ing on a purely democratic basis, it held that its 
right was limited to the encouragement of volun- 
tary or local effort. How far control may be 
ultimately centred in the national Government 
nobody can foresee. Many persons may think 
that the gradual approximation on the part of the 
States to a common system tends in that direction. 

The national Government has, it is true, made 
grants of land to the different States for educa- 
tional uses. Two occasions on which these grants 
were made deserve notice. In the " Ordinance of 
1787 for the Government of the North- West Ter- 
ritory," it was provided that : One section of land 
in each township should be reserved for the sup- 
port of religion, one section for common schools, 
and two townships for the support of a " literary 
institution to be applied to the intended object 
by the legislature of the State." Accompanying 
this provision was a declaration that "religion, 
morality, and knowledge being necessary to good 

* The relation of the National Bureau of Education (see p. 243) 
to the educational system of Alaska may perhaps be considered to 
offer an exception to this statement. 

242 



United States Bureau of Educiiion. 

government and the happiness of mankind, schools 
and the means of education shall for ever be en- 
couraged." In 1862 an Act was passed giving to 
each State thirty thousand acres of land for each 
senator and representative to which the State was 
then entitled, for the purpose of founding " at least 
one college, where the leading object shall be, 
without excluding other scientific and practical 
studies, and including military tactics, to teach 
such branches of learning as are related to agri- 
culture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as 
the legislature of the States shall respectively 
prescribe, in order to promote the liberal education 
of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and 
professions of life" Certain of the above words 
are printed in italics as referring particularly to 
the special object of our study ; they will again 
occupy our attention on a later page. 

But the national Government has adopted yet 
another and no less effective means of assisting 
educational progress throughout the land. The 
United States Bureau of Education corresponds 
in many respects to the Special Inquiries Branch 
of our Board of Education. It collects facts as 
to educational movements in all parts of the world, 
and " furnishes the fullest information upon every 
conceivable phase of educational activity to whom- 
soever would accept it." It thus acts not as a 
controlling authority, but, in a sense, as the brain 
*7 243 



Advantages of Wide Area of Control. 

of the collective teaching body of the United 
States. It is needless to insist further on the 
influence which the Bureau can, and does, under 
its present admirable direction, exercise over 
educational development. 

Each State is, however, a central authority, in 
the English acceptation of the term, to itself ; and 
it is owing to the increasing similarity between the 
nature of the control employed by different States 
that something approaching a common system of 
schools has. arisen in America. Cities, townships, 
and all subordinate political divisions have been 
compelled to submit to whatever authority the 
State sees fit to assert ; for they are powerless to 
levy taxes for school purposes unless authorized 
so to do by the State. Moreover, generally speak- 
ing, they have not been slow to perceive the benefit 
of a central authority controlling a wide area. 
In many cases, for example, the State is able to 
distribute the sums raised by a general levy in 
such a way as to aid poor districts which other- 
wise would be without the money necessary for 
the support of their schools. In this connection 
the State of New York may be noticed, where the 
cities provide more than five hundred thousand 
dollars yearly for the support of schools in the 
country districts. 

But the benefit of an authority presiding over 
a wide area is no less evident in connection with 

244 



Common Features of Different Systems. 

the provision of higher educational institutions, 
which could not be supported without intolerable 
extravagance by smaller sections of the country. 
Such institutions are the Normal Schools, prepar- 
ing teachers for elementary and secondary schools, 
maintained by nearly all the States ; and the great 
State Universities to be found in all the southern 
and western States. " In ten universities of the 
North-Central division of States," says the authority 
already quoted, " there are twenty thousand 
students in college and professional classes, 
and the work is of as high grade and of as 
broad range as in the oldest universities in the 
country." 

The degree and extent of the control exercised 
by each State has been determined by the measure 
in which the people have appreciated these benefits, 
and also by the mere material consideration of the 
financial needs of the minor political divisions. If 
one attempts to generalize, all that can be said is 
that each State now includes provisions in its consti- 
tution relating to education ; and that in all of them 
there is some sort of public educational organiza- 
tion established by law. At the same time there 
seems to be little doubt that there is a general 
tendency towards centralization within the State 
limits. Indeed, the State of New York may be 
said to have achieved a central organization second 
to none in the world, and which may ultimately 

24s 



The State of New York — ■ 

prove the model for all other States. It therefore 
demands a brief explanation. 

In the first place, there is a State board of 
regents responsible for the private academies (see 
p. 256), controlling partially the public secondary- 
schools, and in charge of all the higher educational 
institutions. In addition to this authority there is 
the State superintendent of public instruction, 
whose office we may now consider. 

Reference has already been made to the evils 
which must arise in any system of schools sub- 
mitted to a purely democratic form of government. 
An allusion has also been made to the natural 
objection of a people who have built up a demo- 
cracy to the influence of the expert. But, from 
the very beginning, the better sense of the Ameri- 
can people seems to have saved them from this 
consistent adherence to the weakness, as well as to 
the strength of democracy. As far back as the 
beginning of last century, the laws insisted 
that some test should be applied to the qualifica- 
tions of persons wishing to teach. Such a test 
implies a recognition of the expert. Early in the 
century, superintendents were appointed to per- 
form this and other functions demanding expert 
knowledge. New York appointed a State superin- 
tendent in 1 8 12, and by the middle of the century 
most of the other States, as well as the towns, 
cities, and, in the Southern States, the counties, 

246 



and its Superintendent of Schools. 

had followed suit. While in the old days all that 
was demanded of the superintendent was that he 
should examine candidates for the teaching pro- 
fession, collect statistics, and address meetings on 
educational subjects, now he is held responsible for 
the quality of the education provided by different 
sections of the nation. He may indeed be re- 
garded as the great bulwark against the encroach- 
ment of political interests on the domain of national 
education. 

In the State of New York the superintendent 
seems to combine the powers of a European 
Minister of Education and an ideal English Con- 
sultative Committee. His functions have been 
summed up as follows : — 

" He apportions the school funds ; he determines 
the conditions of admission, the courses of work 
and the employment of teachers, and audits all the 
accounts of the twelve normal schools of the State ; 
he has unlimited authority over the examination 
and certification of teachers ; he regulates the 
official action of the school commissioners in all 
of the assembly districts of the State ; he appoints 
the teachers' institutes, arranges the work, names 
the instructors, and pays the bills. He determines 
the boundaries of school districts. He provides 
schools for the defective classes, and for the seven 
Indian reservations yet remaining in the State. 
He may condemn schoolhouses, and require new 
ones to be built. He may direct new furnishings 
to be provided. He is a member of the State 
board of regents, and of the board of trustees of 

247 



America and Educational Experts. 

Cornell University. He may entertain appeals by 
any person conceiving himself aggrieved from any 
order or proceeding of local school officials, deter- 
mine the practice therein, and make final disposi- 
tion of the matter in dispute, and his decision 
cannot be ' called in question in any court or in 
any other place.' " 

The organization of educational government has 
been dealt with at greater length in the case of the 
United States of America than in that of either 
Germany or France. It appears to many careful 
observers that in England we are at present 
tending towards a democratic form of educational 
supervision and control. In no country perhaps 
is the popular mistrust of the educational expert 
so deep. This is not the place to consider the 
religious and social causes which have led to that 
mistrust. But at a time when we have been forced, 
by the successful rivalry of those nations who have 
laid strongly and firmly the educational founda- 
tions of trade and industry, to reconsider our 
educational methods, it would seem more than 
ever important that we should ask ourselves how 
far such prejudices can be allowed to militate 
against the improvement of the quality, as well as 
the increase of the quantity, of our education. In 
this respect we have more to learn from America 
than from any other country. For there we may 
trace the gradual abandonment of those prejudices 
from which we are at present suffering. And yet 

248 



America and Educational Experts. 

this abandonment has not been accompanied by 
any impairing of what is strongest and best in that 
democratic spirit which is exercising so great an 
influence on the destinies of England. 

America has looked to education to make 
democracy a success, and the future will certainly 
show that she has not looked in vain. But in 
the interests of democracy itself she has been 
forced to act with that inconsistency which alone 
seems to ensure success to human endeavour. 
The knowledge of the few has been allowed in 
matters educational to guide the will of the many, 
and those few have not failed their country in 
her need. In this respect America has furnished 
one more instance to establish the fact that has 
not yet been contradicted by modern history : 
that where a nation places implicit confidence in 
her educational experts — that is to say, men and 
women who have, from love of education itself, 
devoted their lives to the scientific study and 
practice of education — they will invariably prove 
worthy of that confidence. Above all, it is im- 
portant for us to notice, at the present critical 
moment in our history, that it is to the educa- 
tional expert that America has had to appeal for 
assistance to overcome all the evils which had 
grown up in her organizations for public educa- 
tional control — systems which she had built up in 
obedience to the letter of democracy. It remains 

249 



Diversity in Elementary Education. 

to be seen what systems of education she has 
established with the aid of her experts ; and more 
particularly what are the educational foundations 
of trade and industry which she has laid. 

It has already been stated that there is great 
diversity in the American system of education. 
This diversity extends even to the elementary 
sphere. It is most striking to the European 
observer in the case of compulsory attendance 
at the elementary school. There are no less 
than sixteen States and one Territory which do 
not make education compulsory, although they all 
have a fully organized system of free schools. 
Even where compulsion has been adopted, the 
period of attendance varies. In the majority of 
cases it is required between the ages of eight to 
fourteen. In Maine and Washington, however, it 
is extended to fifteen ; and to sixteen in New 
York and five other States. In seven States the 
lower limit of age is placed at seven, and in one 
of these the child is required to continue his 
attendance at school up to the age of sixteen. 
This does not represent the only variety, for there 
are all sorts of special conditions with regard to 
children employed in labour on the one hand, 
and those growing up in idleness or illiterate on 
the other. In the year 1 898-1 899 there were 
15,138,715 pupils enrolled in the " common schools " 
of the United States. The average daily attend- 

250 



Education Open to All. 

ance was 10,389407 ; that is to say, 68*6 of the 
pupils on the school registers. 

The National Bureau of Education publishes, 
among the other very interesting statistics which 
it has collected, the average number of years of 
schooling (of 200 days each) that each individual 
of the population receives, or has received at differ- 
ent dates, taking into account 2M public and private 
schooling of whatever grade. In 1870, the number 
of such years was 3*36, in 1890 it was 446, in 1897 
it was 493, and in 1899 it rose to 496. But the 
same calculation, taking into account only the 
schooling furnished by public elementary and 
secondary schools, that is, the "common schools," 
gives respectively for the above-mentioned years 
the figures 291, 3*85, 4-39, and 4*43. The fact that 
the American Bureau combines the attendance at 
elementary and secondary schools, under the term 
11 common schools," in the above statistics, is signi- 
ficant, as showing that, in the eyes of the American 
people, secondary education is part of the normal 
course through which every child should pass. In 
fact, both are considered as parts of a public 
system which is crowned by the university ; the 
elementary schools being those which contain 
" all pupils in the first eight years of the course 
of study," and the secondary schools those which 
contain " pupils in the next four years of the course 
usually conducted in high schools or academies." 

251 



Comparison with French System. 

From this fact we are led to conclude that 
secondary education in the United States is not 
confined to the select few, as in Germany. And 
here we are again brought into touch with the 
spirit of democracy — of pure democracy, we might 
say, in contrast to the democracy of England and 
France. Here, indeed, we find the fullest recog- 
nition of the equal rights of all men. There is 
no attempt in America, as in France, to hinder 
children from passing through the secondary 
school ; on the contrary, they are encouraged to 
do so by the provision of free secondary education. 
It is in the difference of the characters of the 
French and the Americans, and of the influences 
which have moulded them, that we find the true 
explanation of their different view of equality. 
We have seen that in France social ambitions of a 
peculiar nature have made a strict adherence to 
the fundamental principles of democracy possible. 
Without making invidious comparisons between 
the characters of these two peoples, it will suffice 
for our present purpose to observe that in America 
there is no ambition which may not look forward 
to its highest possible realization. 

As it has been often remarked, in a land 
where a man may pitch his tent where he 
pleases at night and awake in the morning to 
find that he has slept over a gold-mine, there 
are few dreams of ambition which can surpass 

252 



Comparison with French System. 

the possibilities of reality. And it is, no doubt, 
such natural equality of opportunity which has 
given to the American character much of its 
sturdy independence and self-reliance, two quali- 
ties which characters always acquire when they 
move in a limitless field of possibilities. And it 
must be remembered that, though democracy has 
been unable even in America to do away with class 
distinctions, the passage from one class to the 
other has, generally speaking, been kept free and 
open. This is in a very great measure due to the 
fact that there have been no old regimes, as in 
France, which a fluctuating minority of the people 
has always been ready to recall, and which have 
more than once been re-established to disturb the 
course of democracy. If further proof were neces- 
sary of the fact that it was not purely educational 
considerations which led to the establishment in 
France of technical education in the secondary 
sphere, it is afforded by the refusal of the 
Americans, who are certainly not a jot behind the 
French in their appreciation of the benefits of 
industry and commerce, to sanction any corre- 
sponding growth in their system of schools. They, 
indeed, have gone to the other extreme, and have 
added to their old secondary schools free public 
institutions of a similar grade. We are, therefore, 
again, in the case of America, compelled to take 
the secondary schools into account in a survey 

253 



Early Secondary Schools. 

of the educational foundations of trade and 
industry. 

The English colonists, in their natural desire to 
imitate the mother-country, planted Latin grammar 
schools on American soil. The first of these schools 
appears to have been that set up in the town of 
Boston in 1635. The colony of Virginia had made 
a similar attempt earlier, which came to nothing 
owing to the Indian massacre of 1622. And 
here it may be remarked that there is no greater 
mistake made by the English people than to 
regard America as possessing only institutions 
of mushroom - growth and without traditions. 
Not only are the roots of her secondary schools 
planted in a very respectable distance, but she 
has universities which may almost claim to be 
venerable. In 1636, for instance, the general 
court of the colony of Massachusetts voted a gift 
of four hundred pounds towards the foundation of 
" a school or college ; " and two years later the 
institution was opened, thanks to the bequest of 
a nonconforming clergyman of England, named 
John Harvard, whose name it has borne ever since. 
In 1701 there was also founded another university 
in Connecticut, which was renamed in 1718 in 
gratitude for the gifts of Elihu Yale, of London. 
Columbia University, founded in 1754, may also 
be able to boast of some traditions. 

The number of secondary schools founded in the 

254 



Early Secondary Schools. 

seventeenth century was considerable. In the very 
beginning, we perceive a recognition of what may 
be termed the duty of the State with regard to 
the education of the people. The most striking 
example of this is afforded by the Puritan colony 
of Massachusetts, which, in 1647, decreed that an 
elementary school should be maintained in every 
town of fifty families, and that there should be a 
grammar school in every town in which the number 
of families amounted to one hundred. The secondary 
nature of the grammar school was clearly marked 
by the provision that it was to educate students 
for admission to the university. Preparation for 
the universities seems, indeed, to have been the 
chief aim of all these old schools. What was 
demanded by that preparation is suggested by the 
standard of attainments required for admission to 
Harvard College at this time. These requirements 
are summed up as follows : — 

"When scholars had so far profited at the 
grammar school that they could read any classical 
author into English, and readily make and speak 
true Latin, and write it in verse as well as prose, 
and perfectly decline the paradigms of nouns and 
verbs in the Greek tongue, they were judged capable 
of admission in Harvard College." 

Consequently, the studies in the grammar school 
were almost entirely classical. These schools were 
generally attended by the children of the higher 

255 



The Academies. 

social class, but, like the corresponding schools in 
the mother-country, they seem always to have been 
ready to prepare talented boys of the poorer 
classes for a university career. Apparently, the 
grammar schools sank before sectarian differences, 
and at the dawn of the revolutionary period were 
replaced by the academies. 

In the case of the academies, also, there was at 
first an absence of originality, or of adaptation to 
the special needs of America. They seem to have 
been modelled on the secondary schools established 
in England by the nonconformists, who were ex- 
cluded from the grammar schools and universities 
alike. In the course of studies which they provided 
and in their general organization they seem to have 
resembled our grammar schools — a resemblance 
which can still be traced to-day. 

In the reorganization which followed the revolu- 
tion, much attention was paid to secondary educa- 
tion. A strong desire now sprang up for secondary 
schools under the exclusive control of the State 
Government, and not marked by the sectarian 
character of the majority of the academies. In 
short, public, in opposition to private, schools were 
now demanded. Boston took the lead in founding 
a school of the new type. Taking as its model 
the High School of Edinburgh, the Massachusetts 
town established, in 1821, an "English Classical 
School," to which shortly after it gave the name of 

256 



High Schools. 

V English High School." The course of study in 
this school was at first three years in length. The 
subjects of the curriculum were : English language 
and literature, mathematics, navigation and sur- 
veying, geography, natural philosophy (including 
astronomy), history, logic, moral and political 
philosophy. It was not until later, when the 
course was extended to four years, that Latin and 
modern languages were taught in this school. 

Within the next thirty years a number of high 
schools sprang up in different parts of the country, 
and now they are found, with very few exceptions, 
wherever they are needed. It should be observed 
that the Boston High School received pupils from 
the elementary schools, and did not at the outset 
prepare them for admission to the university. But 
now such a gap between the secondary and higher 
institutions is no longer allowed to exist, and the 
high schools include in their curricula those 
studies which may be considered as preparatory 
to university education. Greek alone seems to be 
regarded with some disfavour by those on whom 
the high schools depend for their support. 

Some of the academies have not been able to 
survive the competition of the younger secondary 
schools. Others are now stronger than ever, and 
new schools of this type have been founded. 
They occupy very much the same position in the 
American system as would be filled by our great 

257 



High Schools. 

public schools in an English system from which 
they were nominally excluded. The academies are 
generally boarding-schools, and thus possess advan- 
tages not enjoyed by the high schools, which 
receive day pupils only. A number of the old 
academies offered co-education, and a great ma- 
jority of the high schools also teach boys and 
girls together. In the report for 1896-97 of the 
National Bureau of Education, it is stated that 
there were in the whole country 5109 public 
high schools, with few exceptions supported 
entirely by public taxation and the proceeds of 
the school funds, or, in other words, providing free 
education. The number of boys in these schools 
was 173,445, and that of girls 235,988. Thirty- 
five of the high schools admitted boys alone, 
twenty-six girls only, and the remainder were 
co-educational. At the same time, it was calcu- 
lated that there were 2100 private high schools, 
academies, etc., of which 12 12 were co-educational ; 
351 being for boys only, and 537 for girls. From 
the same source the information is derived that 
during the year 1898-99 there were 488,549 
pupils in the public secondary schools, and 166,678 
in private secondary schools. 

As might be expected, there is much diversity 
in the curricula of the American secondary schools. 
The centralizing tendencies, referred to on an 
earlier page, have, however, done much to produce 

258 



Curricula of Secondary Schools. 

that minimum of uniformity which would seem to 
be essential to the secondary schools of any 
country. And there is no doubt that much has 
been done in the same direction by the excellent 
supply of educational literature, produced by 
America for the benefit of the English-speaking 
world, and above all by the teachers' meetings 
and congresses, in the organization of which the 
United States are unsurpassed. 

From the three following specimens of curricula 
which were selected for the enlightenment of 
educational students at the Paris Exhibition of 
1900, it will be seen that the American schools 
have arrived at a well-balanced course of studies. 
It is interesting to compare these three typical 
curricula with those of the Prussian secondary 
schools (see p. 80, et sqq.). It is significant that in 
America, where so much is left to the freedom 
of popular choice, classical studies seem to be 
gaining in public favour. But although America 
has emerged from what may be called the 
"scientific age," during which she surpassed all 
other countries in her eagerness to teach the 
greatest number of sciences in the least number 
of years, even her classical schools do not ignore 
the part which is played by science in the eviron- 
ment of the modern man and woman. 



18 259 



Curricula of Secondary Schools. 



I.— Phillips' Academy, Andover, Massachusetts (an 
Incorporated and Endowed Boarding Establishment). 





Classical Section. 


Scientific Course. 




Class 
IV. 


Class 
. III. 


Class 
II. 


Class I. 


Class 
D. 


Class 
C. 


Class 
B. 


Class A. 


English . . . 


4 


2 


2 


■§1 

Ji o 


4 


2 


2 


s§ a 


Latin .... 


6 


5 


5 


b?.W& 


6 


4 


(2) 


C p O 


Greek .... 




4 


S 


"5 r -1 o 

4> w O 





__ 







French . . . 


_ 


(4) 


(i) 







(4) 


(2) 


e foi 
gono 
iitica 


German . . 


— 


(4) 


(i) 


rom th 

of P 

ing, a 


— 


(4) 


(2) 




Algebra . . 


2 


2 


2 


^.2 2 


2 


3 


3 


'd o o 


Geometry. 


2 


— 


— 


selecte 

addit 

ical D 


2 


3 


3 


selecte 
additi 
ing, Zo 


History .. 


— 


— 


3 


S3 ■* J ,G 


— 


— 


4 


W 2 5= 

S3~ 2 uS 


Natural 








sn he 
with 
, Mec 








^o-^ 


Science. 


2 


— 


— 


2 


— 


— 


£ ^ «3 rt 


Chemistry 


— 


— 


— 


■*-> in •-■ 


— 


n 


(4) 




Botany . . • 


— 


— 


— 






— 


(2) 





Note. — The figures in the columns indicate the number of 
" recitation periods " a week devoted to the several subjects. 
Figures in parenthesis indicate that the subjects for which they 
stand are alternative with others in the same column. 



26o 



Curricula of Secondary Schools. 

II. — Courses recommended for the High Schools of 
Minnesota by the State High School Board. 



English 

Latin 

Mathematics . , 

History 

Natural Science 



(a) Latin Scientific Course. 



i st Year. 


2nd Year. 


3rd Year. 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


5 


— 


— 


5 


5 


5 


" 


5 



4th Year. 



Note. — In Latin: First year, Grammar; second year, Csesar ; 
third year, Cicero ; fourth year, Virgil. In Mathematics : First 
year, Algebra ; second year, Plane Geometry ; fourth year, Solid 
Geometry and Higher Algebra. In Natural Science: First year, 
Zoology or Botany ; third year, Physics ; fourth year, Chemistry. 

(5) Literary Course : As above, substituting four years of German 
for Latin. 

(c) Classical Course : As above, substituting Greek Grammar and 
Anabasis for equivalents. 

(d) English Course: As above, substituting for Latin, under pre- 
scribed conditions, some of the following subjects: Botany, 
Physiography, Book-keeping, Civics, History, Political Economy. 



III.— Course for Public Latin School, Boston, 
Massachusetts. 





Class VI. 


Class V. 


Class IV. 


Class III. 


Class II. 


Class I. 


Arithmetic . . . 

Geometry .... 

Geography . . . 

Gymnastics . . . 
Military Drill . 


3 

5 

4 [5] 

3 
3 

2 


3 
5 

4 

3 

3 

2 


3 

7 [4] 

[4] 
[3] 

4 [3] 

2 
1 

2 


3 

4 
5 
3 

3 
2 

2 


3 

5 

5 
2 

3 
2 

2 


3 

4 
5 

5 

4 

4 
2 



261 



No Cul-de-sac. 

Note. — The brackets indicate the arrangement for the Spring 
Term only. Botany, Physiology, and Hygiene are studied during 
the Spring Term in the hours assigned to Geography in the table. 
Objective Geometry is studied in connection with Arithmetic in 
Classes VI. and V. Plane Geometry is begun in the hours assigned 
to Algebra in Class II. 

It will be seen from the above tables that the 
Americans insist on a wide and general curriculum 
in their secondary schools. They appreciate to a 
greater extent than almost any other people the 
scientific principles underlying education. Indeed 
there is no country except Germany where the 
science of education receives such attention from 
men of first-rate abilities ; and probably during 
recent years the world owes more to the original 
research of the Americans in this branch of science 
than to that of any other people. Recognizing 
that education must follow the course of natural 
development, and guide the individual towards 
the complete and harmonious realization of all 
his capacities, they are loath to shorten the 
period of general education in favour of a course 
of special studies. It has been remarked by one 
of themselves that they are determined that 
there shall be no cul-de-sac in their educational 
systems. But there was probably no intention, 
when using a French word to express what is 
most to be avoided, to draw attention to the fact 
that in no system is the cul-de-sac so common 
as in the French. It is to be hoped that America's 

262 



General Culture. 

determination may be strengthened by the extra- 
ordinary success in practical life, of those of 
her sons and daughters who have received the 
general culture provided by the secondary school 
and the university, but who have not on that 
account considered it in any way degrading to 
start at the bottom rung of the ladder of life. 
So far the public high schools have to a great 
extent been able to resist the popular demand for 
specialized education ; in many cases they have 
refused to admit commercial subjects to their 
curricula, or to provide manual training for any 
other purpose than that of general culture. Special 
commercial schools in the secondary sphere are 
generally private ventures, and they have to 
depend on the support of that section of the com- 
munity which has but a partial insight into the 
true meaning of education. 

It may, perhaps, be said that the American 
teachers are more free from conventional restric- 
tions, and more daring in the originality of their 
experiments, than those of any other country. 
And, when it is remembered that there is no 
land in which the right to freedom of develop- 
ment is held so sacred, it will be understood 
that no time-tables or no statistics can possibly 
represent the full influence of the secondary 
schools on American progress. The following 
table is, however, interesting, as showing the 

263 



Statistics. 

steady increase in the popularity of literary 
studies, and the decrease in the popularity of 
some branches of mathematics and science. This 
table, which is based on statistics furnished by 
the National Bureau of Education, includes both 
public and private secondary schools. 





1889-1890. 


1893-1894. 


1897-1898. 




Number 


Per 


Number 


Per 


Number 


Per 




of 


cent, to 


of 


cent, to 


of 


cent, to 




Students. 


total. 


Students. 


total. 


Students. 


total. 


Total number 






• 








of secondary 














students .... 


297,894 


— 


407,919 


— 


554,814 


— 


Number study- 














ing— 
















IOO,I44 


33'62 


177,898 


43'59 


274,293 


49*44 




12,869 


4*3 2 


20,353 


4'99 


24,994 


4'5o 




28,032 


9-41 


42,072 


10-31 


58,165 


10-45 


German .... 


34,208 


11-48 


52,152 


12-78 


78,994 


14-24 


Algebra .... 


127,397 


42-77 


215,023 


5271 


306,755 


55-29 


Geometry . . 


59,789 


20-07 


103,054 


25*25 


147,515 


26-59 


Trigonometry 


— 


— 


15,500 


3-80 


15,719 


2-83 


Physics .... 


63,644 


21*36 


97,974 


24-02 


113,650 


20-48 


Chemistry . . 


28,665 


9-62 


42,060 


10-31 


47,448 


8-55 



It is of course to be expected that, in a country 
where popular opinion has almost as much influence 
in educational matters as in England, a tendency 
will be shown to frame the curricula of secondary 
schools in some cases with an exaggerated regard 
for popular favour. We consequently find in some 
of the American secondary schools commercial 
departments very similar to those which have been 

264 



Commercial Education. 

started recently in connection with a few English 
grammar schools. These courses vary very much, 
both as to their length and as to what may be 
called their commercial intensity. 

The President of Harvard University remarked 
in an address at the National Export Exposition 
of 1899: — 

" The so-called commercial course in an American 
high school is almost universally a course hope- 
lessly inferior to the other courses, being made up 
by substituting book-keeping, stenography, type- 
writing, and commercial arithmetic for some of the 
language, history, mathematics or science of the 
classical or English scientific course. This course 
exists in our public schools because it has for 
committeemen and parents a practical sound. . . . 
For the purposes of mental training or of mental 
power, getting this course is never to be recom- 
mended, and it is rare that the slight knowledge 
of these arts acquired by pupils in the public 
schools proves to be of much use to them in 
winning a livelihood." 

In 1898, a department of commerce was 
established in connection with the Central High 
School in Philadelphia. Here the course covers 
four years, and is generally considered as the 
nearest approximation which has yet been achieved 
in the United States to the ideal type of secondary 
commercial school. The curriculum of this de- 
partment given below, showing the numbers of 
hours per week allotted to each subject, is worthy 

265 



Commercial Education. 

of careful study. The pupil is fifteen or sixteen 
years of age before he commences to specialize. 
It is evident, however, that the course of studies 
represents a compromise between the educational 
and the " practical " idea ; and only results can 
show whether both have not been sacrificed. We 
may well be inclined to ask what practical or 
educational benefit can be derived from the study 
of Latin for the first two years only ; or whether 
the amount of Greek and Roman history or of 
modern European history, which can be learnt in 
one year, is really worth the time that is given to 
it. And again, can anything more than a smatter- 
ing of physical geography, botany and zoology 
be acquired during one year, when these subjects 
share four hours a week between them ? Such a 
course as this appears to the Englishman, and still 
more to the German, to represent all that is most 
brilliant in the daring pedagogical experiments 
of the American experts, and at the same time 
to offer a warning against the democratic tendency 
to try to "serve both God and Mammon." It 
is precisely the pedagogical knowledge which is 
displayed in the organization of this course, and 
particularly in the selection of subjects for the first 
year, which makes it, to use a somewhat cant 
expression, dangerous for those who, having only 
skimmed the surface of educational science, are 
always attracted by new ideas. 

266 





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267 



Commercial Education. 

From the statistics of the National Bureau of 
Education it may be gathered that the number of 
students in all commercial courses in different 
kinds of institutions in the year 1897-98 was as 
follows : — In universities and colleges there were 
5869 ; in normal schools, 5721 ; in private high 
schools and academies, 9740 ; in public high 
schools, 31,633 ; and in commercial and business 
colleges, 70,950. Thus no less than 123,913 indi- 
viduals were receiving some sort of commercial 
education in the United States during the year 
mentioned. 

The "commercial colleges," the best known 
of the institutions which provide this kind of 
training, really offer nothing more than the 
preparation necessary for a boy or girl, man or 
woman, of any age whatever, desiring to obtain 
employment as a clerk. These schools are con- 
sequently of a very elementary order, and cannot 
rightly be termed educational institutions. They 
are private undertakings submitted to no public 
supervision. The tuition fee of the better class 
commercial college varies from £10 to ,£40 for a 
year of ten months. 

The business college is seen in its highest de- 
velopment in the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, 
and Industry in Philadelphia, which is said to be 
one of the best endowed secondary schools in the 
United States. Here there is a more specialized 

268 



Commercial Education. 

course than is to be found in the Central High 
School in the same town.* The department of com- 
merce and finance in this school consists of three 
special divisions — the course in commerce and 
finance, the office course, and the evening course. 
The first of these courses provides what is termed 
a thorough fundamental training for the activities 
of business. It includes: (i) the production, 
manufacture, sale, and transportation of articles 
of commerce ; (2) the management of stock com- 
panies and corporations ; (3) the buying and sell- 
ing of securities ; (4) the importing and exporting 
of merchandise ; (5) the borrowing and lending of 
money on credit ; (6) the advertising of com- 
mercial concerns ; (7) the keeping of business 
records. This course covers two years of two 
terms each. A diploma is granted to those 
students of the Institute who have completed the 
whole of this course and passed the necessary 
examinations. 

It is to the universities and colleges of America 
that we must look for commercial education of the 
highest kind. It is evident that it is not until the 
grade of education represented by these institu- 
tions is reached that a student is fitted and 
intellectually competent to acquire a knowledge 
of those sciences on which commerce must depend 
for its proper conduct. The secondary school 

* See p. 267. 
269 



Universities and Commercial Education. 

can, indeed, provide training in such practical 
subjects as commercial arithmetic, shorthand, and 
typewriting ; it can neglect the future needs of 
the pupil with regard to his general environment, 
and encourage a premature development of those 
special powers which will be exercised by the 
narrower surroundings of his future calling ; but 
it is not until a broad basis of general knowledge 
has been laid, and a wide development of intel- 
lectual power has been attained, that a young man 
or woman is capable of studying commerce in the 
way that it is studied in the commercial university 
of Leipzig, or as industry is studied in the great 
German technical high schools. The American 
colleges and universities have comparatively re- 
cently recognized this fact. They have also been 
led to admit, not without a certain reluctance, that 
although many of the most successful men of 
business have passed through the classical courses 
of study which they offer, yet it is possible for 
them to furnish a training which is becoming more 
than ever essential. 

In these days, when the competition between 
nations in the markets of the world has reached 
a pitch of intensity unknown in former history, 
the man of business is obliged to act with a 
promptness and rapidity of decision which call 
for a knowledge of the many conditions affect- 
ing commerce, and which can only result from 

270 



Universities and Commercial Education. 

a careful scientific training and a wide survey 
of human affairs. This training and this know- 
ledge may be provided by the universities better 
than by any other educational institution ; for 
not only must such training be preceded by the 
education, and this knowledge be based on the 
instruction provided by the secondary school, but 
it is desirable that the man of commerce should 
not be cut off from all the influences of the 
high traditions upheld by the universities. This 
the American universities have perceived. Four 
of them, the University of Pennsylvania, in Phila- 
delphia, the University of Chicago, the University 
of California, in Berkeley, and the Columbia Uni- 
versity, in the city of New York, are conspicuous 
for the steps they have taken to furnish suitable 
courses of higher commercial education. 

It was in 1881 that Mr. Joseph Wharton, a 
manufacturer of Philadelphia, made a large dona- 
tion to the University of Pennsylvania for the 
foundation of a higher commercial department. 
This is only another instance of what American 
education owes to private munificence. The 
twenty thousand pounds which Mr. Wharton gave 
for this purpose were used to establish the school 
of finance and economy. After ten years' ex- 
perience it was found necessary to reconstruct 
and enlarge this new faculty of the university, 
The course in finance and economy now covers 

271 



Commercial Course of a University. 

four years, thus corresponding to the other courses 
in arts and science. The conditions of admission 
are the same as to other courses of the university. 
The following curriculum shows better than any 
other form of statement the kind of instruction 
which is given in the four different years. It 
should be noted that special provision is made 
in this course for those students who intend to 
enter the journalistic profession. 



COURSE IN FINANCE AND ECONOMY. 

Freshman Class. 



No. of Hours per Week. 



Subjects. 




Composition 

Algebra 

Solid Geometry 

Trigonometry 

General Chemistry * 

German 

Accounting 

Physical and Economic Geography 

Practical Economic Problems 

Economic Literature 

Newspaper Practice f 



* For students who present Solid Geometry and Plane Geometry 
and Physics for admission to College. Such students omit Solid 
Geometry and Trigonometry. 

t For students in Journalism, who omit Accounting in second 
term. 



272 



Commercial Course of a University. 



Sophomore Class. 



Subjects. 


No. of Hours per Week. 


ist Term. 


2nd Term. 




2 

3 

2 

I 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
I 
I 
I 




History of English Literature 


2 




3 




Business Practice 


2 

I 


Theory and Geography of Commerce .... 


2 
2 
2 
2 




2 




I 




I 




I 



Senior Class. 



No. of Hours per Week 



Subjects. 



Public Administration 

Legal Institutions 

Municipal Government 

Political Economy 

Statistics 

Finance 

Transportation 

History of Renaissance and Reformation 
Art and History of Newspaper-making f 

Newspaper Practice f 

Current Topics f 



* For students in Journalism, who omit Business Practice and 
History and Geography of Commerce in second term. 

t For students in Journalism, who omit Municipal Government, or 
Transportation, or Statistics. 

273 




Universities and Technical Education. 



Junior Class. 



No. of Hours per Week. 



Subjects. 




Constitution of United States 

Constitutions of Germany and Switzerland 

Congress 

Modern Legislative Problems 

Political Economy 

Advanced Sociology 

Sociological Field Work 

Business Practice 

Banking 

American History 

English Constitutional History 

Logic 

Ethics 

Art and History of Newspaper-making * . 

Newspaper Practice * 

Current Topics * 



The Universities in America have thus begun 
to fulfill their duty with regard to the men of 
commerce, and in this they are being followed 
by the newer English universities. There is a 
further resemblance between the two in the 
attempts which they make to provide that ad- 
vanced scientific training which we have seen 
is given by the German technical high schools, 
and to which Germany owes so much of her 
industrial prosperity. It may be that in the 
future England and America will succeed in 

* For students in Journalism, who omit either Modern Legislative 
Problems, or Business Practice and Banking. 

274 



The American University. 

furnishing better foundations of trade and industry 
than even the German Empire; for certainly- 
much is to be gained in recognizing at the outset 
the common link which unites all studies of 
university rank, whether they prepare for the 
learned professions in particular, or for the special 
occupations of trade and industry. But at present 
America has so far outstripped England in this 
respect that we can hardly regard the two countries 
as competing on an equal footing with the educa- 
tional activities of Germany. Before considering 
the technical branches of the American universities 
a few words may be said as to the general 
organization of these institutions. 

There is, perhaps, rather less variety in the 
organization of American universities than in that 
of the secondary schools. It is, however, exceed- 
ingly difficult to institute a comparison between 
the English and American universities. This 
difficulty is in part due to the American confusion 
of nomenclature. The term college, for instance, 
is sometimes applied to institutions of the highest 
possible grade, but more generally it connotes a 
composite organization, partly a secondary school 
and partly a university. If one could imagine the 
University of Oxford or Cambridge insisting that 
all students on arriving at the university should 
spend four years, before commencing their uni- 
versity studies, in bringing their attainments 
19 275 



The American University. 

of scholarship up to the level demanded by 
the French Baccalaur6at, or, adopting Matthew- 
Arnold's comparison of standards,* by the certifi- 
cate of maturity of a Prussian higher secondary 
school, then there would be something in Eng- 
land corresponding to the American college. 
Generally speaking it may be said that, while the 
universities sometimes contain both a collegiate 
or undergraduate and a graduate department, the 
university proper provides only courses of post- 
graduate studies. Again, it may be said that the 
American university often contains four depart- 
ments which resemble respectively the German 
university, technical high school, agricultural 
college and gymnasium. Harvard University, 
for instance, presents the following organiza- 
tion : — 

I. Faculty of arts and sciences. 

(a) Harvard College, leading to the degree of 
bachelor of arts. 

(b) The Lawrence scientific school (degree of 
bachelor of science). 

(c) The graduate school (degrees of master of 
arts, master of science, doctor of philosophy and 
doctor of science). 

* "The examination for the degree of bachelor of arts, which 
we place at the end of our three years' university course, is merely 
the AbiUiricuten examen of Germany, the epreuve du Baccalauriat 
of France, placed in both of these countries at the entrance to 
university studies instead of, as with us, at their close." 

276 






Harvard and Yale. 

II. The divinity school (degree of bachelor of 
divinity). 

III. The law school (degree of bachelor of laws). 

IV. The medical school (degree of doctor of 
medicine). 

V. The dental school (degree of doctor of dental 
medicine). 

VI. The school of veterinary medicine (degree 
of doctor of veterinary medicine). 

VII. The Bussey institution (degree of bachelor 
of agricultural science). 

The graduate school of Harvard does not offer 
advanced technical instruction in civil and me- 
chanical engineering ; this is, however, to be found 
at Yale, the next oldest university, and in a number 
of the later universities. Without entering into 
details as to all the universities * of America, we 
may notice that in each of twenty-nine of the 
States there exists a " State university," supported 
exclusively, or in great part, from public funds, 
and consequently more or less under public con- 
trol. Reference has already been made to the 
grant of land of the General Government in 1862, 
and also to the condition accompanying these 
grants, namely, that the leading object of the 
institutions they maintain should be instruction 

* The University of the State of New York is, it should be 
noticed, an institution analogous to Napoleon's " University of 
France" (cf. p. 154). 

277 



Cornell. 

in those branches of learning relating to agricultural 
and mechanical arts, including military tactics, and 
not excluding other scientific and classical studies. 
Before considering the effect of this condition, it 
may be noted that the other sources of income for 
the State universities are taxation, tuition fees (in 
some only of the universities, in many the instruc- 
tion is entirely gratuitous), and private gifts and 
endowments. With regard to the last source of 
revenue, it is not perhaps as large as is generally 
imagined in England, where we are inclined to be 
dazzled by the magnificent examples which come 
under our notice. 

Almost all the universities in the United States, 
including the State universities, offer courses in 
pure or applied science. What Cornell University, 
in the State of New York, does in this respect is 
particularly interesting. Ezra Cornell, to whom 
the foundation of this university is due, desired to 
found "an institution where any person might 
find instruction in any study." Thanks to his 
generous gift, and his careful management of the 
funds derived under the Land Grant Act referred 
to, the college has already realized upwards of 
£820,000 as endowment, and still holds 156,000 
acres of the land originally bought by Cornell, 
valued at £120,000. These funds may not be 
sufficient for the achievement of Cornell's object, 
but they will go some way towards realizing it. 

278 



Higher Technical Education. 

The Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering, 
which forms part of Cornell University, was 
founded by Hiram Sibley, who was interested in 
some of the great telegraph, railway, and farming 
enterprises of the middle of the nineteenth century. 
His first gift provided a building and a chair of 
* practical mechanics and machine construction." 
Altogether the gifts of Sibley and his family 
amount to ^46,000. The Sibley College now 
consists of eight departments — mechanical en- 
gineering, experimental engineering, electrical 
engineering, machine design, mechanic arts or 
shop work, industrial drawing and art, and 
graduate schools of marine engineering and naval 
architecture, and of railway and mechanical engi- 
neering. The courses of study cover four years, 
leading respectively to the degrees of mechanical 
engineer, electrical engineer, etc. The number of 
students in 1899 was 492. At the same uni- 
versity there is a college of civil engineering, in 
which special instruction is given in bridge 
engineering, railroad engineering, sanitary, muni- 
cipal, hydraulic, and geodetic engineering. In 
this splendidly equipped college there were 186 
students in 1899. 

But higher technical instruction is not found 
only in the universities. For instance, the first 
school of science established in America owed its 
origin to Stephen Van Rensselaer, a Dutchman. 

279 



Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Van Rensselaer conceived the idea of a canal con- 
necting the Hudson River with the great lakes. 
Having caused a geological survey to be made in 
connection with this project by Professor Amos 
Eaton, he was struck with the lack of men capable 
of conducting such undertakings, and was con- 
vinced of the necessity for scientific and technical 
education. Professor Eaton seems to have been 
a typical American genius, and it was with his aid 
that Van Rensselaer founded in 1824 the famous 
Polytechnic Institute which still bears his name. 

An Irishman, Dr. Patrick K. Rogers, was chiefly 
responsible for the foundation, in 1 861, of the great 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now one of 
the most famous technical institutes in the world. 
Speaking of this school, Mr. J. H. Reynolds 
remarks — 

" Certainly its wealth of engineering equipment, 
the thoroughness of its courses of instruction, the 
practical character of its methods, the high 
standard which it achieves, well warrant the praise 
accorded to it, and well sustain its claim to recog- 
nition as one of the largest and best appointed 
scientific and technical schools in the United 
States, both in respect of staff and equipment. 
It was opened in 1865 with twenty-seven students, 
which number had grown in 1895 to 1 183, taught 
by a staff of 137 teachers. Its students are 
drawn from every State of the union, and from 
nineteen foreign countries, and included amongst 
its students are seventy or eighty graduates of 

280 



Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

other colleges and scientific schools who come 
to take technical courses." 

The most important section of this institute is 
a school of industrial science, " devoted to the in- 
vestigation and teaching of science as applied to 
the various engineering professions, namely, civil, 
mechanical, mining, electrical, chemical, and sani- 
tary engineering, and naval architecture, as well 
as to architecture, chemistry, metallurgy, biology, 
physics, and geology." The institute offers thirteen 
distinct courses, each of four years' duration. 
Affiliated to it is the Lowell school of practical 
design, providing a course of three years of in- 
struction in the art of design, including technical 
manipulations, original designs, etc. 

There are a number of similar institutions in all 
parts of the country, which cannot even be named 
here. It will be found, however, that, in most 
cases, they provide a course of four years, the 
first two of which are devoted to general pre- 
paratory studies for the special professional work 
of the last two. This preparatory course usually 
includes modern languages and those subjects 
which are necessary in common to every branch 
of special industrial studies. Nearly all these 
schools offer a degree at the end of the course ; 
but while some grant only the degree of bachelor 
of science, others bestow a more distinctly pro- 
fessional title on their successful students, such as 

281 



Higher Technical Education. 

civil engineer, etc. Some offer still higher degrees, 
demanding longer courses of studies, a thesis, and 
three years' successful professional practice. 

There is no common requirement for admission 
to these schools such as we have seen is demanded 
in Germany. From an attempt, made by the 
President of the Worcester Technological Insti- 
tute, to determine the typical average requirement 
for admission to schools of science or engineering 
colleges, we learn that they would include, in 
addition to the "common English branches," 
algebra, plane geometry, English literature, history 
of the United States, and either the French or 
German language. About two or three years' 
study of the latter would be required, and to this 
list will often be added solid geometry, plane 
trigonometry, the elements of physics or chemistry, 
and sometimes a year or two of Latin. 

There is also a large supply of what is com- 
monly understood in England by the term " tech- 
nical education," that is to say, special preparation, 
based on elementary education, for different trades 
and industries. Trade schools, schools of design, 
and textile schools, of every possible variety, and 
owing their origin to voluntary effort, are to be 
found distributed over the land. In all these 
schools, however, the educational, as distinguished 
from the professional, aim is never lost sight of. 
It says much for the educational sense of the 

282 



Lower Technical Education. 

country that, almost invariably, the technical 
schools have to satisfy public opinion that the 
course of studies which they provide is calculated 
to promote mental, moral, and intellectual de- 
velopment, as well as mere wage-earning capacity. 
Not the least remarkable among such institutions 
are the Manual Training Schools. The type 
which they represent cannot be said to exist in 
England. 

The Manual Training Schools are not technical 
schools, in the sense that they aim at teaching or 
even preparing for special trades or professions. 
"It is really," says Mr. J. H. Reynolds, "the 
principle and practice of the Kindergarten, con- 
cerning the value and necessity of which there is 
no longer any question amongst American educa- 
tionists, carried forward through the later years 
of school life. It is ' learning by doing,' and is 
fast becoming a recognized principle in school 
methods throughout the States." It appears, 
indeed, that this form of education is not based 
on any utilitarian ideas. We find little trace 
of that desire which we find nearer home to 
employ educational principles in excuse of systems 
which have been built up for purely utilitarian 
purposes. The Manual Training Schools of 
America are an attempt to prove that "learn- 
ing by doing" is the best means of promoting 
natural development. Their influence has been 

283 



Manual Training Schools. 

great, and, thanks to their example, there are now- 
few secondary schools which do not devote some 
time to manual training and also to industrial 
drawing. The latter study has been defined by 
an American as " an orderly progressive course of 
drawing, based on geometry." As showing the 
increase of manual training in the schools of 
America, the following figures, taken from the 
statistics of the National Bureau of Education, are 
instructive: — In 1890 reports were given of 37 
cities ; in 1894, of 93 cities ; in 1896, of 121 cities ; 
and in 1898, of 146 cities in the schools of which 
manual training was taught. 

Some of these Manual Training Schools form 
departments of institutes embracing wider general 
aims. In the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn — another 
of the American institutions which owes its origin 
to individual munificence and enterprise — the 
Manual Training High School forms but one of 
the four sections of educational provision. The 
work of this institute has been classified as 
follows : — 

1st. Education, pure and simple, in the Manual 
Training High School. 

2nd. Normal training in preparing a student to 
become a teacher (a) in the department of Fine 
Arts, (b) the department of Domestic Art and 
Science, (c) in the department of Science and Tech- 
nology, (d) in the department of Kindergarten. 

284 



Manual Training Schools. 

3rd. Technical or special training to secure 
practical skill and knowledge in the Industrial 
and Domestic Arts. 

4th. Opportunities of acquiring a knowledge 
of, and direction in, special subjects relating 
to domestic, social, financial, and philanthropic 
interests. 

A full description of this institute will be found 
in the report presented by Mr. J. H. Reynolds to 
the Technical Instruction Committee of the city 
of Manchester, embodying an account of his visit 
in April and May, 1898, to technical colleges, 
institutions, schools, libraries, museums and works 
in the United States and Canada. In this report 
we have a survey of the great movement in the 
United States for the promotion of industry 
through education. It places us under a further 
debt of gratitude to the city of Manchester. It 
should be read by all those who are interested in 
the progress of the great Western democracy. 



285 



CHAPTER VII. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

In the preceding pages an attempt has been made 
to show that our foremost rivals in the markets 
of the world have built up national systems of 
education, in which full allowance has been made 
for the claims of industry and commerce. We 
have probably as many schools as any country, 
and no doubt our educational expenditure from 
all sources is equal to that of any of the three 
peoples with whom we have dealt ; but with us 
there is a total absence of that common purpose 
which can alone create a system out of a number 
of independent efforts, and in no sense of the word 
can we be said to possess a national system of 
education. 

Germany is the country which presents to our 
view the best organized of educational systems ; a 
national system in the highest sense of the term, 
since it was created in response to the needs of a 
nation which was brought to its knees before foreign 
rivalry. This system was designed in no narrow 

286 



Conclusions. 

or one-sided spirit, for on it was seen to depend 
the upraising of the whole nation, and its future 
development in every branch of human activity on 
which man may depend for his existence, his com- 
fort, and his happiness. Prussia, with that central 
guidance and supervision which can alone ensure a 
common aim throughout the whole system, has 
been able to insist on the due recognition in every 
kind of school of the scientific principles underlying 
education ; and she has been in a position, thanks 
to her achievements in the interests of the whole 
Empire, to offer an example to the other German 
States, who have imitated what was best in her 
school organization. Taking a wide and general 
view of the schools of Germany, the impression 
forces itself upon the mind that there is less special 
education than in any other country ; that the 
object of Germany has rather been, so to develop 
each man that he may be ready to perform, to the 
utmost of his ability, those duties which his country 
demands of him. And thus he is not, in the first 
place, a chemist, a manufacturer or a tradesman ; 
but a German and a man, who in both capacities 
has reached the highest point of development of 
which he is capable. His general education may 
have ceased at the age of fourteen, when he left 
the primary school, or it may have been continued 
until the age of sixteen or nineteen in the secondary 
school. In the former case, as far as it is possible 

287 



Conclusions. 

for any political organization to adapt itself to 
natural conditions, the cessation of his general 
education coincided with the close of the period 
of his natural infancy, and of that development 
which demands the guidance of other men of 
superior experience and knowledge. In the latter 
case, with again the same reservation, he showed 
himself fit to continue his general education to a 
later age — fit, that is to say, in the sense that his 
natural development had not ceased at the earlier 
age of less gifted men. All the leaders in different 
branches of German national life, therefore, pass 
through the secondary school, which provides, in 
the strictest sense of the term, general education. 
It was owing to this fact that Bismarck was able 
to say in 1895 — 

" If I had not found in our nation the pre- 
paratory work of the secondary teaching profession, 
I do not believe that my work, or the work in 
which I have collaborated, would have met with 
such success." 

In France we also see a national system of 
education at work. Here, however, the national 
purpose has not been so clearly perceived as in 
Germany. In spite of the teachings of the Revo- 
lution, or perhaps because of its teaching, France 
has found it necessary to impose restrictions on 
the natural development of man as man. She has 
been obliged to spread a net of technical education 

288 



Conclusions. 

over her primary schools to prevent the soaring 
social ambitions from wandering aimlessly in 
" secondary " regions. Fortunately, she has allowed 
free expression to the opinion of her experts, and 
they have been able to check in some measure the 
tendency to incorporate education in the great 
institution which is being built up around the 
worship of the goddess of Work, the modern 
substitute for the revolutionary goddess of Reason. 

America has also a national system of schools, 
existing side by side with a multitude of more or 
less independent efforts. Here the pure spirit of 
democracy has been so far maintained that the rights 
of man to the fullest and freest natural develop- 
ment are still held sacred by all but the feeble and 
corrupt. Around the principle of general, as 
opposed to specialized, education a bitter struggle 
is, however, being waged between those who have 
only the interests of the nation at heart, and those 
who are ready to use democratic freedom for the 
promotion of their own selfish interests. 

More and more in the United States the control 
of education seems to be centred in the expert, 
and it would appear that, to save the schools from 
the selfish, weak, and corrupt, greater centralization 
of control will become necessary. Already in the 
State of New York we find that private schools 
outside the national system are brought under the 
control of the State, which is almost entirely vested 

289 



Conclusions. 

in an educational expert. Whether this example 
will be followed by the rest of America, it is difficult 
to say ; but there certainly seems to be a tendency 
in that direction. And if ever the time should 
come when external opposition should deprive 
this great country of the luxury of free experiment ; 
if ever it should become necessary for her to 
consider economy in the maintenance of her 
schools, we shall certainly see a closer approxi- 
mation to the German system. 

Meanwhile the American national system — and 
there appear to be no reasons for refusing this title 
to that aggregate of schools of different kinds under 
public control — in many ways strongly resembles 
that of Germany. General education until the end 
of the secondary course is the rule, and not the 
exception. From the secondary school the pupil 
proceeds to the technical school or to the uni- 
versity. In three particulars, however, does the 
American national system differ from the German. 
First, in its large provision of free secondary and 
university education ; secondly, in its recognition 
of the equal rights of both sexes to the same 
educational opportunities ; and, thirdly, in the 
close connection existing between the universities 
and technical schools. In Germany technical 
schools have been built up independently of the 
universities, though it is true that they have caught 
more and more of the university spirit, and adopted 

290 



Conclusions. 

more and more of the university organization. In 
America, on the other hand, almost all the uni- 
versities include, on an equal footing with their 
other courses, courses of technical instruction of 
the highest kind. 

So far, England, with a fatal gift of imitation 
which she seems recently to have acquired, has 
followed, from no natural reasons, the French 
rather than the German or American development 
of national education. And, as she obstinately 
refuses to allow that influence to the expert which 
France does not hesitate to permit him, there is no 
saying to what extent she may in the near future 
violate every sound educational principle. Those 
who are most anxious as to our future industrial 
and commercial prosperity fear that England may 
altogether fail to lay the proper educational 
foundations of trade and industry. In France and 
Germany the main support of these foundations is 
the general education — both classical and modern 
— provided by the secondary schools. Both of 
these countries have placed their secondary schools 
under public control. We are about to follow 
their example in this particular. But we should 
at least take warning from America, who, starting 
long ago at the point which we have now reached, 
has been compelled to abandon one of the funda- 
mental principles of democratic government, and 
call the expert to her aid in her struggle against 
20 291 



Conclusions. 

the weakness, ignorance, and corruption of those 
bodies to whom she had entrusted the control of 
her schools. 

There is, however, but little comfort in a warning 
which does not at the same time point to a way of 
escape. If we are to avoid the dangers which 
have threatened the schools of America, it is 
evident that, in spite of all the scoffs and gibes at 
the disagreement among experts of all kinds, we 
must not attempt to solve the problems which now 
face us without the aid of those who have devoted 
their lives to the study and practice o'f education. 
The government clerk and the county councillor 
are essential to our educational government, but, 
whatever may be their functions, we have no right 
to demand of them a knowledge of the sciences 
which must determine the nature and quality of 
the education furnished by every school. One of 
our first duties, therefore, is to find the experts. 
Unfortunately, those who in the past have exercised 
whatever control of our schools has been vested in 
the government have discouraged the study of 
the science of education among our secondary 
school teachers. And consequently there is now 
a lamentable want of experts to advise us as 
to the type of secondary school which will meet 
the needs that are pressing so urgently upon us. 

When Prussia, a hundred years ago, gathered 
herself together for a final struggle against the 

292 



Conclusions. 

oppression of foreign tyranny, one of the first 
things she did was to make provision for the 
training of the teachers in her secondary schools. 
She thus procured for herself that magnificent 
army of educational experts which forms one of 
the chief sources of her national strength. Now 
that we have to fight against the world to try 
and maintain our industrial and commercial 
supremacy, we might do worse than follow the 
example of Germany, and lay the first educational 
foundations of trade and industry and of all 
national prosperity by training our secondary 
teachers. If we refuse to do this it will be useless 
to organize our secondary education, as Matthew 
Arnold so strongly and so wisely urged us to do 
many years ago ; and we may, at no very distant 
date, find ourselves compelled to begin to train 
our educational experts by the same necessity as 
Germany. 



293 



INDEX. 



E. = England, P. = France. Or. = Germany. U.S.A. = United 
States of America. 



Aachen, 104, 115. 

Aix, 193. 

America. See National Educa- 
tion in the United States. 

American Commissioner of Edu- 
cation, Report of the, 129. 

Andersonian Institution, Glasgow, 
16, 21. 

Andover, Mass., 260. 

Angers, 193. 

Antwerp Congress, 131. 

Arago, F. J. D., 160. 

Architecture (G.), 106-108. 

Armentieres, 174. 

Arnold, Matthew, 33, 34, 115, 276. 

Austria, her struggle for supre- 
macy over the German States, 
S7-6i. 

Baker, James, 129. 

Bell, Dr., 18. 

Berkeley, Sir William, Governor of 

Virginia, 227. 
Berlin, 61, 106, 115. See also 

Charlottenburg. 
Birkbeck, Dr. George, 16-25, 46, 

7i- 

Bismarck, 61. 

Board of Education (E.), 54. 

Board of Trade (E.), 30. 

Boston, Mass., 254, 256, ?$?, 261. 

British and Foreign School So- 
ciety, 18, 24. 



British Technical Instruction 
Commission, 97, 101, 109, 189, 

2O0. 

Brougham, Henry, 16, 20. 
Brunetiere, Ferdinand, 42. 
Brunswick, 104, 115. > 

Buffalo (U.S.A.), 239. 
Buisson, M., 172. 
Burke, Edmund, 8. 

California, the University of. See 

Universities. 
Cambridge (E.). See Universities. 
Canning, G. , 45. 
Chalons-sur-Marne, 185, 189, 

*93- 

Charlottenburg Imperial Physical 

Institute (G.), 103-113. 
Chemistry and metallurgy (G.), 

102, no. 
Chicago University (U.S.A.). 

See Universities. 
City Central Technical College 

and Guilds of London Institute, 

104. 
Classics, the study of the (E.), 37, 

70 ; (P.), 170 ; (G.), 73-76, 92, 

95; (U.S.A.), 254, 255-257, 

259-261, 266. 
Clausthal (G.), 104. 
Cluny_(P.), 193, 194. 
Colonial Schools (U.S. A ), 227, 

228, 254. 



295 



Index. 



Columbia University (U.S.A.). 

See Universities. 
Commercial Education (E.), 207 ; 

(P.), i73- l8 3> 208-216, 221; 

(G.j, 131, 145,146; (U.S.A.), 

265-269, 270-274. 
Compiegne, 184, 185. See also 

Chalons-sur-Marne. 
Conservatoire National des Arts 

et Mitiers, 203-207. 
Consort, the Prince, 29, 30, 44. 
Continuation schools (G.), 118- 

129. 
Cornell, Ezra, 278. 
Cornell University (U.S.A.). See 

Universities. 
Crefeld school (Cr), 127, 128. 

Dale, F. H., 119-125. 
Darmstadt, 104, 115. 
de Caen, Gervais, 210. 
Democracy and Education (E.), 

11-13; (U.S.A.), 12, 13, 15, 

99. 169, 230-234. 
Descartes, 203. 
Devonshire, Duke of, 97. 
Dresden, 104, 115. 
Drexel Institution of Art, Science, 

and Industry (U.S.A.), 268, 

269. 
Dupuy, Charles, 164. 

Eaton, Professor Amos, 280. 

£cole Centrale des Arts et Mi- 
tiers (P.), 193, 196-202. 

ii coles des Hautes Etudes Com- 
merciales (P.), 212, 221. 

£coles Nationales d Arts et Mi- 
tiers (P.), 184-196, 225. 

licoles Nationales Professionnelles 

(P.), 172, 173. *77- 

Ecoles Supirieures de Commerce 
(P.), 208-216, 221. 

Edinburgh High School, 256. 

Education Act of 1870, etc. (E.), 
11, 19, 24, 31, 47, 53. 

Education Department (E.), 32. 

Engineering (G.), 102, no. 

England. See National Educa- 
tion in. 

English, the Study of (G.), 96, 
97- 



Fichte, J. T., 62, 85. 



Finsbury Technical College (E.), 
102. 

France. See also National Edu- 
cation in. 

Her part in the struggle for 
supremacy over the Ger- 
man States, 57-61. 

Francke, A. H., 71. 

Frankfort system (G.), 92-97. 

Frederick II., 72. 

Frederick William IV., King of 
Prussia, elected German Em- 
peror, 61. 

Freiburg, 104. 

French, the study of (G.), 96, 
97- 

Germany. See National Educa- 
tion in. 

Goethe, J. W., 61. 

Goldsmith, Oliver, 4. 

Greek, the study of (G.), 76, 
95, 96; (U.S.A.), 255, 257, 
2 6. 

Grelley, M., 208. 

Guizot, F. P. G., 156-160. 

Gymnasien (G.), 73 > 76, 80, 82- 
84, 106, 114. 

Halle, 71. 
Hanover, 104, 115. 
Hardenberg, 62. 
Harvard, John, 254. 
Harvard University. See Univer- 
sities. 
Havre, 182, 183. 
Hebart, J. F., 69, 86. 
Hecker, Julius, 71, 72. 
Humboldt, W. von, 62, 63. 

Industrial classes, their educa- 
tional needs (E.), 24-26. 
Industrial revolution (E.), 2, 17, 

36. 
International Exhibition of 1851, 
29, 30, 44. 

Jesuits and education in France, 

151- 
Journalism and newspaper prac- 
tice (U.S.A.), 272-274. 

Karlsruhe, 104, 115. 



Lancaster, Joseph, 18. 



296 




Index. 



Language. See Modern Lan- 
guages. 

La Rochefoucault-Liancourt, the 
Duke of, 184. 

Latin, the study of (P.), 170 ; (G.), 
73-76, 92, 95, 96 ; (U.S.A.), 
254, 255, 266. 

Leipzig Commercial High School, 
123-125, 144. 

Liebaut, M., 205. 

Lipscombe, W. G., 79. 

Louis XVIII. , 203. 

Louis-Philippe, King, 154, 156. 

Lowe, Robert, 13. 

Lowell, J. R., 9. 



Magnus, Sir Philip, 21, 97. 

Manual Training Schools 
(U.S.A.), 283-285. 

Massachusetts (U.S.A.), 254-256, 
260, 261. 

Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology (U.S.A.), 280, 281. 

Mechanics institutions (E.), 21, 
22. 

Ministry of Public Instruction 
(P.), 172-174. 

Minnesota, 261. 

Modern languages, the study of 
(E.), 50 ; (Ch), 94-97. 141-144- 

Munich, 104, 115. 

Nantes, 174. 

Napoleon, 6, 9, 10, 59, 64, 65, 154, 
157, 184. 

Napoleon III., 161. 

National Bureau of Education 
(U.S.A.), 242-244, 251, 284. 

National Education. The Growth 
of National Systems of Edu- 
cation. See chapter i. 

National Education in England. 
See chapters ii. and hi. 
Industrial revolution, 2, 17, 

36. 
Education Act of 1870. .11. 
Democracy and education, 11- 

13- 

Voluntary efforts to lay educa- 
tional foundations, 14. 
Dr. Birkbeck's movement, 16- 

25. 
Mechanics' institutions, 21, 22. 
Educational needs of industrial 

classes, 24-26. 



National Education in England 
— continued. 

State efforts towards educa- 
tional foundations, 29. 

The Prince Consort and the 
International Exhibition of 
1851. .29, 30, 44. 

Science and Art Department, 
30-33, 46, 47, 50-53. 

Education Department, 32. 

Matthew Arnold's warning, 33, 

34- 

Education at the beginning of 
the nineteenth century, 35-37. 

Oxford and Cambridge Univer- 
sities, 35, 37-40, 54, 275. 

Utilitarianism and idealism, 41- 

43- 

Religious education, 50. 

Study of modern languages, 50. 

Secondary schools and univer- 
sities, 35, 52, 54. 

" Higher grade " schools, 53. 

Board of Education Act, 54. 

Classical versus modern educa- 
tion, 70. 

British Technical Instruction 
Commission visit to Germany, 

97- 

Finsbury Technical College, 
102. 

City Central Technical College 
and Guilds of London Insti- 
tute, 104. 

Commercial Education, 207. 
National Education in France. 
Foundations laid in France. 
See chapter v. 

Napoleon establishes educa- 
tional system, 6, io, 24, 154, 

157- 

Matthew Arnold on elementary 
education, 33. 

The revolutionary period, 99, 
147, 153, 156. 

Training of teachers, 137-140, 
223. 

Influence of Rousseau and Vol- 
taire, 147-153- 

The Jesuits and public educa- 
tion, 151. 

Education under Louis- Philippe, 
154-160. 

Guizot's educational reforms, 
156-160. 



297 



Index. 



National Education in France — 
continued. 

Education under Napoleon III., 
161. 

Growth of higher primary sys- 
tem, 161-168. 

Secondary education, 161, 164, 
169, 170. 

Cours compldmentaires, 162. 

Higher primary schools, 162- 
168. 

Modern and classical "sides," 
170. 

Ministry of Public Instruction, 
172-174. 

Ministry of Commerce and In- 
dustry, 172-175, 187, 208, 

, 2TI. 

Ecoles Nationales Profession- 
nelles, 172, 173, 177. 

Practical Schools of Commerce 
and Industry, 173-178. 

Practical School of Commerce 
and Industry for Boys, 178- 
181. 

Practical School of Commerce 
and Industry for Girls, 182, 
,183. 

Ecoles Nationales d Arts et 
Mdtiers, 184-196, 225. 

The Cluny school, 193, 194. 

Ecole Centrale des Arts et 
Mdtiers, 193, 196-202. 

Conservatoire National des A rts 
t et Mdtiers, 203-207. 

Ecoles Supdrieures de Commerce, 
208-216, 221. 

Congress on Technical Educa- 
tion in Paris, 208. 

Examinations, 215-220. 

Ecoles des Hatites Etudes Com- 
mercials, 212, 221. 

Scholarships, 220. 

General tendencies of French 
education, 28, 222-225. 

Comparison with American sys- 
tem, 252, 253. 
National Education in Germany, 
15, 24. See chapter iv. 

Public education in Wiirtem- 
berg, Saxony, and Prussia, 6. 

Establishment of national edu- 
cation in Prussia, 9, 62, 63. 

Matthew Arnold on elementary 
education, 33. 



National Education in Germany 

— continued. 
Universities, 39, 40. 
Technical high schools, 41, 55, 

101, 103-115, 132. 
Prussia's pre-eminence, 43, 57. 
Secondary schools, 48, 49, 80- 

84, 132, 155. 
Trade and education, 52. 
Foundations laid by German 

Government, chapter iv. 
Pestalozzi's system, 65-69, 86, 

93. *57- 

Realschulen, 70-76, 82, 89, 132, 
135, 141, 144, 168, 169. 

Hecker's school, 71. 

Gymnasien, 73, 76, 80, 82-84, 
106, 114. 

Realgymnasien, 76, 80, 83, 84, 
106, 114. 

Oberrealschule, 76, 79, 81, 83, 
84, 89, 106, 114, 144. 

The Emperor and the con- 
ference of educational ex- 
perts, 77-79. 

Privileges of secondary educa- 
tion, 82-84. 

The national aim, 85. 

The science of education based 
on natural laws, 86-90. 

French criticism, 90, 91. 

The Frankfort system, 92-97. 

The study of languages, 94-97, 
141-144. 

The Charlottenburg School, 
103-113, 127. 

"Continuation" schools, 118- 
130. 

Crefeld school, 127-129. 

Training of teachers, 135-140, 
' 144. 

Commercial education, 131, 145, 
146. 

Superiority of the German sys- 
tems, 286, 287. 
National Education in the United 
States of America. The Foun- 
dations laid in America. See 
chapter vi. 

Democracy and education, 12, 
13. J 5. 99. l6 9» 230-234. 

Colonial schools, 227, 228, 

254- 
Growth of a national purpose, 

229 



298 



Index. 



National Education in the United 
States of America — continued. 

Organization of educational 
control, 235-237. 

Dangers of democratic control 
of education, 239, 240. 

National government and edu- 
cation, 241-244. 

National Bureau of Education, 
242-244, 251. 

State Universities, 245, 277. 

New York State superintendent 
of schools, 246, 247. 

Educational experts, 248, 249. 

Diversity in elementary educa- 
tion, 250. 

Complete system of education 
open to all, 251. 

Comparison with French sys- 
tem, 252, 253. 

Early secondary schools, 253- 

255. 

Harvard, Yale, and Columbia 
Universities, 254, 255, 277. 

Academies, 256. 

High schools, 257, 258. 

Curricula of secondary schools, 
259-26 r. 

Commercial education, 265-269. 

Universities and commercial 
education, 270-274. 

The American University, 274- 
278. 

Cornell University, 278. 

Universities and higher educa- 
tion, 279. 

Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, 280, 281. 

Technical education, 282. 

Manual Training Schools, 283- 
285. 

Conclusions on the American 
systems, 289, 290. 
National Society for the Educa- 
tion of the Poor in the Prin- 
ciples of the Established 
Church (E.), 18, 24. 
New York, 244-247, 250. 
Niebuhr, 62. 
Nonconformists (E.), 36. 



Oberrealschule (Gr.)> 76, 79, 81, 

83, 84, 89, 106, 114, 144. 
Oxford. See Universities. 



Paris Exhibition, Educational 

Exhibit (P.), 166, 170, 173 ; 

(U.S.A.), 239, 259. 
Paris Chamber of Commerce, 210, 

211, 220, 221. 
Pennsylvania, the University of. 

See Universities. 
Pestalozzi, J. H., 65-69, 86, 93, 

J 57. 
Philadelphia, 239, 265, 267, 268, 

271. 
Pinloche (A,), 90. 
Playfair, Lord, 30, 44. 
Prussia. See also National Educa- 
tion in Germany. 
Her struggle for supremacy, 57- 
62. 

Realgymnasien (Cr.), 76, 80, 83, 

84, 106, 114. 
Realschulen (Gr.), 70-76, 82, 89, 

132, 135, 141, 144, 168, 169. 
Redgrave, Gilbert R. , 97. 
Religious Education (E.), 50. 
Reynolds, J. H., 280, 283, 285. 
Rogers, Dr. Patrick, 280. 
Rousseau, J. J., 94, 148-153, 156- 

157- 
Royal College of Science (E.), 30. 

Sadler, .Michael E., 132, 144, 220. 

Saint-Etienne, 179-180. 

Saxon Code for Continuation 

Schools (G.), 1 18-125. 
Saxony. See National Education 

in Germany. 
Scharnhorst, 62. 
Schiller, F., 61. 

School Boards (E.), 11, 53, 56. 
Science and Art Department (E.), 

30-33, 46, 47, 50-53. 
Secondary Education (E.), 35, 52, 

54; (F.), 161, 164, 169, 170; 

(G.), 48, 49. So-82, 132, 155; 

(U.S.A.), 253-255, 259-261. 
Sender, Christopher, 71. 
Sherbrooke, Viscount. See Lowe, 

Robert. 
Ship-building (G.), 110-112. 
Sibley College of Mechanical 

Engineering (U.S.A.), 279. 
Smith, Adam, 4, 14. 
Smith, Sir Swire, 97. 
Society of Arts (E.j, 44. 



299 



Index. 



Society for Diffusion of Useful 

Knowledge (E.), 20. 
Stegeman, Dr., 131. 
Stein, 62, 64. 
Stuttgart, 104, 105, 115. 
Switzerland, 33. 

Technical Education, Paris Con- 
gress on, 208. 

Technical Education (E.)» 102, 
104; (P.), 173-196; (Cr.), 41. 
55, 101, 103-113, 115-132 ; 
(U.S.A.), 280-2. 

Telegraphy (Cr.), 112. 

Training of teachers (Cr.), 135- 
140, 144 ; (P.), 139. 223. 

United States of America. See 

National Education in. 
Universities — 

California (U.S.A.), 271. 
Chicago (U.S.A.), 271. 
Columbia (U.S.A.), 254, 271. 
s Cornell (U.S.A.), 278. 
German, 39-40. 
Harvard (U.S.A.). 254, 255, 

265, 277. 
Oxford and Cambridge (£.), 

35, 37-40, 54, 275. 
Pennsylvania (U. S. A), 271-274. 



Universities — continued. 
United States, 270-278. 
Yale (U.S. A.), 254, 277. 

Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 279, 280. 

Vaucanson, 203. 

Vierzon, 174. 

Virginia (U.S.A.), 254. 

Voiron, 174^ 

Voltaire, 147-151. 

Voluntary Schools (E.), 24, 31. 

Watch and Clockmaking Schools 
at Cluses and Besancon (P.), 

195- 
Webster, Daniel, 12, 13, 229. 
Weimar, 61. 
Wharton, Joseph, 271. 
Wilkinson, Spenser, 43, 44, 60, 62. 
William II., the German 

Emperor, jj. 
Woodall, M.P., William, 97. 
Worcester Technological Institute 

(U.S.A.), 282. 
Wordsworth, William, 5. 
Wiirtemberg. See National 

Education in Germany. 

Yale, Elihu, 254. 

Yale University. See Universities. 



THE END. 



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